THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 

Richard  ^etrie 


\ 


MODERN  CITIES 


MODERN   CITIES 

PROGRESS  OF  THE  AWAKENING  FOR  THEIR 
BETTERMENT  HERE  AND  IN  EUROPE 


BY 
HORATIO  M.   POLLOCK,  PH.D.  (Leipzig) 

AND 

WILLIAM  S.   MORGAN,  PH.D.  (Yale) 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
1913 


COPYRIGHT,  1913,  BY 
FUNK    &    WAGNALLS    COMPANY 


Publithed  Octobtr,  1913 


[  PMKTED   IV   THE    UNITED    8TATE8   OF    AMERICA  ] 


HT 
15) 


PREFACE 

THE  writers  of  this  volume  were  closely  asso- 
ciated for  several  years  in  active  work  for  mu- 
nicipal betterment  in  the  city  of  Albany,  New 
York.  While  thus  engaged  they  came  in  touch 
with  the  principal  movements  for  social  progress 
in  America.  In  the  summer  of  1910  they  went 
abroad  together  and  spent  several  months  in  ob- 
serving the  best  features  of  municipal  life  in  the 
continental  cities  of  Europe.  Their  itinerary  in- 
cluded the  cities  of  Genoa,  Turin,  Milan,  Venice, 
Bologna,  Florence,  Rome  and  Naples  in  Italy; 
Geneva,  Lausanne,  Fribourg,  Berne,  Lucerne, 
and  Zurich  in  Switzerland ;  Munich,  Nuremburg, 
Berlin,  Potsdam,  Charlottenburg,  Dresden, 
Leipzig,  Weimar,  Eisenach,  Mainz,  Cologne  and 
Diisseldorf  in  Germany;  Amsterdam  and  the 
Hague  in  Holland;  Brussels  in  Belgium;  and 
Paris,  Rouen  and  Havre  in  France.  As  many  of 
these  cities  and  some  of  the  cities  of  the  British 
Isles  had  been  visited  on  a  previous  trip,  a  broad 
basis  for  comparison  and  a  measure  of  recent 
progress  were  afforded. 

The  aim  in  the  preparation  of  the  work  has 
been  to  give  students  and  others  interested  in 

[v] 

O'  "*"* 


PREFACE 

social  progress  and  civic  betterment  a  compre- 
hensive view  of  the  best  modern  features  and 
ideals  of  municipal  life  without  burdening  the 
pages  with  details.  While  frequent  reference  is 
made  to  European  conditions  and  some  of  the 
achievements  and  problems  of  European  cities 
are  discussed  at  length,  the  needs  of  American 
cities  have  been  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the 
writers.  It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  the  recital  of 
the  successful  efforts  of  municipalities  in  many 
lands  will  serve  to  stimulate  and  guide  others  to 
like  accomplishments. 

We  wish  to  acknowledge  our  indebtedness  to 
the  Hon.  Philander  C.  Knox,  Secretary  of  State, 
for  his  letter  of  introduction  to  the  diplomatic  and 
consular  officers  of  the  United  States ;  and  to  the 
latter  for  the  great  service  rendered  us  in  facili- 
tating our  investigations. 

WILLIAM  S.  MORGAN. 
HORATIO  M.  POLLOCK. 


[vi] 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  THE  MODERN  CITY 1 

II.  CITY  PLANNING 15 

III.  HOME  PLANNING — THE  HOUSING  PROBLEM  41  X 

IV.  CITY  STREETS  AND  SOME  SPLENDID  TYPES  .  66 

,     V.  THE  VALUE  OF  ART  IN  CITIES 84 

VI.  THE    VALUE    OF    PARKS — IMPRESSIONS    AT 

SANS  Souci  AND  VERSAILLES      ....     97 

VII.  HARBOR    DEVELOPMENT — THE    PORT    OF 

GENOA 110 

VIII.  THE  CONSERVATION  OF  HUMAN  LIFE     .     .  128  A. 

IX.  MUNICIPAL  GOVERNMENT 166 

X.  MUNICIPAL  HOME  RULE 194  X 

XI.  THE    SELECTION    OF    CITY   OFFICERS   AND 

EMPLOYEES 216 

XII.  THE  CONTROL  OF  MUNICIPAL  PUBLIC  SERV- 
ICE CORPORATIONS 225 

XIII.  RECENT  DEVELOPMENTS  IN  EDUCATION     .  250 
XIV.  RELIGION  AND  MUNICIPAL  LIFE  ....  295 

XV.  THE  SOCIAL  EVIL 313  X 

XVI.  CONDITIONS  AND  METHODS  OF  SOCIAL  PROG- 
RESS IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 348 

APPENDIX 377 

INDEX 409 

[vii] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE  PIAZZA  CORVETTO  IN  GENOA     .     .     .  Frontispiece 

PAGE 

THE  PIAZZA  Ac  QUA  VERDI  IN  GENOA     ....  28 

THE  NEW  CITY  HALL  IN  LEIPZIG 30 

Vico  TACCONI  IN  GENOA 42 

COTTAGES  FOR  WORKING  PEOPLE  IN  ROME     .     .  46 

GROUNDPLAN  FOR  A  GROUP  OF  POOR  TENEMENTS 

IN  ROME,  AS  DESIGNED  BY  EDWARD  TALAMO  48 

A  TENEMENT  COURTYARD  IN  ROME  BEFORE  AND 
AFTER    THE    TRANSFORMATION    EFFECTED 

BY  EDWARD  TALAMO 52 

DETACHED  COTTAGES  BUILT  FOR  WORKING  PEOPLE 

IN  ALBANY 62 

GARIBALDI  STREET  IN  GENOA 68 

MANNING  BOULEVARD  IN  ALBANY 70 

THE  PONTE  VECCHIO  CROSSING  THE  RIVER  ARNO 

IN  FLORENCE 74 

THE  PESTALOZZI  STATUE  IN  ZURICH 92 

THE  POSTAL  UNION  MONUMENT  IN  BERN     ...  94 

[ix] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

MAP  OF  THE  PORT  OF  GENOA 110 

A  GENERAL,  VIEW  OF  THE  PORT  AND  CITY  OF 

GENOA '  .  .  .  124 

MADAME  MONTESSORI 260 

SCHOOLROOM  IN  ONE  OF  THE  "CHILDREN'S 

HOUSES"  IN  ROME     .     .  .  264 


MODERN    CITIES 


CHAPTER   I 

THE   MODERN   CITY 

THE  last  three  decades  have  witnessed  remark- 
able changes  in  city  life  throughout  the  civilized 
world.  During  these  years  many  cities  have 
doubled  or  trebled  their  population  and  have 
undergone  a  complete  transformation  in  their 
physical  make-up  and  social  arrangements. 
Cleanliness,  beauty  and  health  have  taken  up 
their  abode  in  the  modern  city  and  are  fast  dis- 
placing the  dirt,  ugliness  and  disease  so  prev- 
alent in  its  predecessor.  A  new  spirit  pervades 
the  city  of  to-day — a  spirit  of  hopefulness,  of 
progressiveness  and  of  genuine  interest  in  the 
common  welfare.  A  quarter  of  a  century  ago 
and  less  writers  were  deploring  the  failure  of 
American  cities.  There  were  plenty  of  con- 
spicuous examples  to  adorn  their  tales.  Failure 
was  written  large  over  the  doors  of  most  of  our 
city  council  chambers.  Fraud,  bribery,  graft, 
betrayal  of  trust,  were  the  unpleasant  words 


MODERN    CITIES 

by  which  the  city  councilman's  work  was  de- 
scribed. The  "boss"  was  cursed  for  enriching 
himself  at  the  expense  of  the  public  and  for  his 
success  in  corrupting  the  body  politic.  The 
citizenship  was  blamed  for  its  apathy  and  inert- 
ness. 

These  criticisms  were  just  for  the  most  part 
and  served  to  stimulate  a  large  number  of  patri- 
otic citizens  to  more  earnest  work  on  behalf  of 
the  city.  City  problems  were  studied,  both  at 
home  and  abroad.  Local  leagues  for  civic  better- 
ment were  formed.  Great  national  organiza- 
tions, such  as  the  National  Municipal  League 
and  the  American  Civic  Association,  were  cre- 
ated. New  forms  of  city  government  were  intro- 
duced and  a  comparison  of  results  was  instituted. 
To  these  efforts  much  of  the  present  hopeful 
attitude  in  American  cities  is  due. 

But  the  modern  city  is  not  alone  an  American 
product.  The  cities  of  Germany  and  England 
have  advanced  even  more  rapidly  than  ours. 
Ancient  Rome,  ancient  Turin,  medieval  Paris 
and  medieval  Florence  are  also  modern  cities. 
There  is  scarcely  a  city  anywhere  that  can  be 
called  civilized  that  has  not  caught  something 
of  the  modern  spirit. 

What  then  is  the  cause  of  this  new  product 
of  the  world's  civilization?  Whence  comes  the 
genius  that  has  wrought  so  marvelously  in  many 
lands?  The  modern  city  is  not  the  result  of  a 

[2] 


THE    MODERN    CITY 

single  cause  but  of  many  causes.  Among  these 
we  may  cite: 

Peace. — Since  the  Franco- Prussian  war  of 
1870-71  there  has  been  but  little  war  among 
civilized  nations.  Neither  the  Boer  war,  the 
Spanish- American  war,  nor  the  Russo-Japan- 
ese war  was  destructive  of  cities.  The  great 
contests  of  the  last  two  wars  were  fought  on 
the  sea.  While  the  city  has  not  been  spared 
its  share  in  the  cost  of  the  preparation  for  war, 
nor  its  share  in  the  burden  imposed  by  previous 
wars,  freedom  from  invasion  and  siege  and  the 
excessive  cost  of  fortifications  have  been  a  great 
relief.  Energy  and  wealth  that  formerly  were 
consumed  in  war  have  been  used  in  building 
roads,  bridges,  factories  and  homes.  The 
thought  of  the  nations  has  also  turned  from  war 
and  military  glory  to  commerce  and  industrial 
development.  Men  of  genius,  of  mechanical 
skill  and  of  executive  capacity  have  worked  to- 
gether in  building  up  great  industrial  enter- 
prises. These  victories  of  peace  have  made  the 
modern  city  possible. 

New  Inventions. — During  the  last  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century  the  telephone  was  per- 
fected and  the  means  of  converting  electrical 
energy  into  light,  heat  and  power  were  dis- 
covered. More  recently  the  explosive  engine 
has  been  brought  into  active  service  in  the  auto- 
mobile and  aeroplane.  The  effect  of  these  in- 

[3] 


MODERN    CITIES 

ventions  on  the  city  has  been  manifold.  Elec 
tricity  in  all  its  varied  forms  is  a  unifying  force 
The  telephone  brings  its  subscribers  togethe 
by  means  of  a  central  switchboard.  A  general 
ing  station  is  the  one  source  of  light  and  powe 
for  many  thousands  of  consumers.  The  ligh 
of  the  whole  city  dies  and  trolley-cars  stan 
helpless  when  the  central  generator  breaks  dowr 
Naturally  there  has  risen  a  common  interest  i 
these  sources  of  common  pleasure  and  comfor 
The  application  of  electricity  to  transportatio 
has  had  an  expanding  as  well  as  unifying  effec' 
The  benefits  derived  from  the  introduction  c 
the  trolley-car  into  large  cities  can  hardly  b 
estimated.  The  slowness  of  the  horse-car  com 
pelled  the  workman  to  live  near  his  work  an 
made  congestion  almost  a  necessity.  The  steam 
car,  while  serving  admirably  for  rapid  trans 
portation  between  cities,  was  impracticable  fo 
city  streets.  The  coming  of  the  trolley-car  be 
came  a  boon.  This  new  mode  of  transportatio 
through  city  streets  trebled  at  once  the  possibl 
distance  between  the  workmen  and  their  wor 
and  made  suburban  home  life  possible  for  tho.s 
whose  occupation  called  them  to  the  heart  c 
the  city.  Naturally  a  great  expansion  in  th 
area  of  cities  has  followed  the  building  of  elec 
trie  roads.  Small  outlying  villages,  after  bein 
connected  by  trolley  with  a  city,  have  been  bui] 
up  rapidly;  the  intervening  gap  between  cit 

[4] 


THE    MODERN    CITY 

and  village  has  gradually  been  filled  up  until 
finally  the  limits  of  the  city  have  extended  to  in- 
clude the  village. 

For  the  smaller  cities  the  electric  surface  car 
has  well  solved  the  problems  of  transportation, 
but  the  marvelous  expansion  of  a  few  cities 
has  made  necessary  the  adoption  of  more  rapid 
means  of  transit.  The  movement  of  surface 
cars  in  cities  like  New  York  and  Berlin  is 
constantly  impeded  by  the  many  vehicles  and 
pedestrians  that  are  compelled  to  use  the  streets. 
In  order  to  overcome  this  difficulty  and  to  se- 
cure rapid  transit  from  one  part  of  the  city  to 
another  in  these  large  cities,  it  has  been  found 
necessary  to  erect  elevated  tracks  through  cer- 
tain streets  and  to  dig  subways  under  others. 
The  first  elevated  tracks  in  city  streets  were 
built  about  twenty-five  years  ago;  the  sub- 
ways are  more  recent.  The  latter  means  of 
transit  are  much  preferred.  They  are  quiet, 
they  do  not  encumber  the  street  and  they  are 
safer  and  swifter.  For  a  time  steam  was  the 
motive  power  on  the  elevated  roads  of  New 
York  as  well  as  in  the  subways  of  London,  but 
the  noise,  smoke  and  dirt  therefrom  was  merely 
endured  until  electricity  was  made  available. 

A  feature  of  the  large  modern  city  made  pos- 
sible by  these  improved  methods  of  transporta- 
tion is  the  separation  of  business  districts  from 
residence  districts.  In  whole  blocks  in  the 

[5] 


MODERN    CITIES 

business  section  of  lower  Manhattan  for  ex- 
ample scarcely  a  dwelling  will  be  found.  The 
people  who  swarm  the  offices  and  stores  in  this 
section  during  the  day  have  their  homes  in  the 
outlying  sections  of  the  city  or  in  the  suburban 
villages  and  cities  ten  to  forty  miles  distant. 

The  use  of  electricity  for  lighting  has  resulted 
in  making  city  streets  much  lighter  than  before 
and  in  enabling  schools,  churches,  theaters  and 
other  public  buildings  to  obtain  abundant  light 
without  vitiating  the  air.  How  much  has  been 
gained  in  public  order  and  health  from  the  use 
of  electricity  for  lighting  will  never  be  known, 
but  we  may  be  certain  it  has  not  been  inconsid- 
erable. 

The  automobile  is  still  too  modern  for  its  effect 
on  city  life  to  be  fully  appreciated.  The  "taxi" 
is  displacing  the  old-fashioned  cab,  and  the  tour- 
ing-car, the  pleasure  carriage.  The  change  is  a 
happy  one  for  the  city.  As  the  auto  moves 
quicker  and  carries  a  larger  load  than  a  horse- 
drawn  wagon,  fewer  vehicles  are  needed  and 
less  congestion  is  seen.  Moreover,  the  auto 
is  clean  and  its  use  greatly  simplifies  the  process 
of  street  cleaning. 

In  Paris,  Berlin  and  London  the  auto-bus 
has  come  into  extensive  use  as  a  means  of  trans- 
portation. As  supplementary  to  the  surface 
cars  and  subways  it  serves  as  a  most  convenient 
and  a  fairly  expeditious  mode  of  travel.  Its 

[6] 


THE    MODERN    CITY 

superiority  over  the  old  horse-drawn  omnibus 
is  almost  as  marked  as  that  of  the  trolley-car 
over  the  old  horse-car. 

The  signaling  apparatus  in  use  by  police  and 
fire  departments  is  another  adaptation  of  elec- 
tricity that  means  much  to  the  modern  city. 
The  up-to-date  fire  department  with  its  trained 
firemen,  its  instantaneous  alarm  system,  its 
swift  automobiles,  its  high  pressure  extinguish- 
ers and  its  powerful  engines  affords  protection 
that  thirty  years  ago  would  have  been  deemed 
impossible. 

Biological  Discoveries. — The  intimate  relation- 
ship existing  between  the  various  departments 
of  human  activities  is  well  illustrated  by  the 
transformations  wrought  in  the  physical  aspects 
of  our  cities  by  the  biological  discoveries  of  the 
latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  great 
epoch-making  discovery  was  that  of  Pasteur 
that  disease  was  disseminated  by  means  of  mi- 
cro-organisms. These  minute  bodies,  floating 
through  the  air  on  dust  particles,  or  living  and 
multiplying  in  water  and  moist  earth  or  being 
carried  about  by  flies  and  mosquitoes  and  finally 
finding  lodgment  in  the  human  body  were 
found  to  be  responsible  for  tuberculosis,  te- 
tanus, typhoid  fever,  scarlet  fever,  diphtheria, 
smallpox,  and  many  other  dread  diseases. 
When  this  fact  became  known  and  accepted, 
efforts  to  check  the  spread  of  the  germs 

C7] 


MODERN    CITIES 

were  made.  Systems  of  quarantine  were  es- 
tablished in  cities  and  infected  dwellings  were 
fumigated. 

Much  more  important  from  the  standpoint  of 
city  upbuilding,  however,  have  been  the  estab- 
lishing of  systems  of  pure  water  supply,  the 
building  of  sewers  and  of  sewage  disposal  plants, 
the  collection  of  all  forms  of  refuse  by  the  mu- 
nicipality and  the  thorough  cleaning  of  streets. 
The  problem  of  fighting  bacteria  has  resolved 
itself  mainly  into  the  removal  of  filth,  the  letting 
in  of  sunlight  and  making  provision  for  an 
abundant  supply  of  pure  air  and  pure  water. 
In  our  later  chapter  on  the  "Conservation  of  Hu- 
man Life"  we  set  forth  with  some  detail  the 
remarkable  changes  that  have  taken  place  in 
the  death-rates  of  cities  since  these  discoveries 
were  made. 

Desire  for  Outdoor  Life. — Closely  allied  to 
changes  that  have  been  made  to  escape  the 
ravages  of  the  disease  germs,  are  those  that 
have  provided  means  of  recreation  in  the  open 
air.  Whether  consciously  seeking  health  or  not, 
the  people  of  cities  are  spending  more  and  more 
time  in  the  open  air.  There  has  resulted  a 
growing  demand  for  more  open  space,  more 
parks  and  playgrounds  and  larger  lots.  These 
are  rapidly  being  supplied  in  residence  districts. 
Outdoor  sports  and  entertainments  have  also 
increased  in  popularity  and  amusement  parks 

[8] 


THE    MODERN    CITY 

have  arisen  in  the  suburbs  of  cities  to  meet  the 
public  demand. 

Demand  for  Beauty. — The  outdoor  life  of 
the  people,  together  with  increased  wealth,  has 
created  a  demand  for  beauty  in  the  external 
features  of  the  city.  In  response  to  this  de- 
mand skilful  landscape  artists  are  employed 
to  lay  out  parks  and  public  gardens.  Foresters 
are  placed  in  charge  of  the  trees  in  the  public 
streets  and  in  public  building  great  care  is  exer- 
cised to  produce  artistic  effects. 

The  regulation  of  architecture  is  becoming 
general.  The  extreme  individuality  of  Amer- 
ican cities  has  been  the  principal  cause  of  the 
lack  of  harmony  found  on  many  of  our  business 
and  residence  streets.  The  individual  built 
regardless  of  others.  His  taste,  whether  good 
or  bad,  mattered  little  as  there  was  no  effort 
to  harmonize  the  work  of  one  individual  with 
that  of  another.  In  European  cities  the  desir- 
ability of  harmony  in  buildings  on  the  same 
street  has  long  been  recognized.  These  cities 
compel  the  individual  to  conform  to  the  public 
standard  of  beauty.  American  cities,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  permitted  great  freedom  to 
builders,  but  they  are  beginning  to  establish 
building  departments  with  authority  to  regu- 
late architecture  as  well  as  materials  and 
plumbing. 

City  Planning. — The  desire  that  the  city  it- 
C9] 


MODERN    CITIES 

self  shall  be  an  expression  of  art  has  called  into 
being  the  new  science  of  city  planning.  New 
cities,  such  as  the  garden  cities  of  England,  are 
carefully  planned  to  meet  the  modern  require- 
ments of  homes,  streets,  parks,  civic  centers, 
business  districts,  etc.,  while  older  cities  are  be- 
ing remodeled  along  lines  of  increased  beauty 
and  efficiency.  The  extent  to  which  a  city  goes 
in  planning  for  the  future  is  in  large  degree 
the  measure  of  its  modernness.  In  fact,  any 
city  that  is  selfishly  content  with  its  present  at- 
tainments and  that  thinks  more  of  its  tax-rate 
than  its  future  well-being  cannot  be  classed  as  a 
truly  modern  city. 

Enlightened  City  Management. — The  appli- 
cation of  new  inventions  and  new  scientific  dis- 
coveries has  called  for  expert  work  in  city 
management.  To  manage  a  modern  city  some- 
thing more  than  success  in  business  or  in  law 
or  medicine  is  needed.  City  management  is  in 
itself  a  profession.  The  German  cities  were 
first  to  recognize  this  fact  and  to  act  according- 
ly. The  Germans  consequently  are  leading  the 
world  in  the  scientific  management  of  cities.  By 
placing  trained  men  in  authority  the  Germans 
secure  efficiency  and  a  high  degree  of  skill 
in  every  department  of  city  affairs.  The  work 
of  the  city  proceeds  in  an  orderly  and  sys- 
tematic manner.  The  people  have  confidence  in 
the  ability  and  honesty  of  their  public  officers, 

[10] 


THE    MODERX    CITY 

and  the  officers  find  their  highest  reward  in 
skilfully  serving  the  public.  The  cleanliness 
and  order  of  the  city  streets,  the  healthfulness 
and  thrift  of  the  people,  and  the  absence  of 
crime  and  disorder,  tell  the  story  of  the  success 
of  the  Germans. 

As  the  secret  of  the  achievements  of  the  Ger- 
man city  is  becoming  known,  other  cities  are 
imitating  the  German  plan  of  management.  In 
America,  until  recently,  we  have  not  been  able 
to  separate  the  management  of  the  city  from 
national  politics.  In  the  confusion  that  has 
resulted  from  our  efforts  to  combine  the  two, 
the  city  has  suffered  most.  With  the  adoption 
and  successful  working  of  the  commission  plan 
of  government  by  many  cities,  the  outlook  for 
the  management  of  the  future  is  exceedingly 
bright. 

Cooperation. — The  keynote  of  the  life  of  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  was  compe- 
tition. Business  firms  competed  strenuously 
with  one  another  for  trade  and  laboring  men 
competed  with  one  another  for  jobs.  Markets 
were  established  on  a  competitive  basis  and 
prices  were  regulated  by  demand  and  supply. 
During  the  past  thirty  years  great  changes 
have  taken  place  in  the  industrial  and  com- 
mercial world.  The  keynote  of  the  twentieth 
century  is  cooperation.  Industry  has  become 
concentrated  as  never  before.  Men  engaged  in 


MODERN    CITIES 

the  same  lines  of  business  are  no  longer  com- 
petitors, but  associates,  or  fellow-workers. 
They  may  not  share  in  each  other's  profits,  but 
the  prices  they  charge  and  the  mode  of  con- 
ducting their  business  are  determined  by  mu- 
tual agreement.  Likewise  the  laboring  man 
enters  into  social  relations  with  his  fellow-la- 
borers in  the  same  line  of  work,  and  instead  of 
competing  they  endeavor  to  render  helpful  serv- 
ice one  to  another.  This  spirit  of  cooperation 
has  come  into  the  city  life  and  is  producing  a 
marked  effect.  Many  of  the  changes  we  have 
noted  in  the  foregoing  discussion  of  the  causes 
of  the  modern  city  would  not  have  been  possible 
without  a  high  degree  of  cooperation..  The  tele- 
phone, whether  operated  by  the  municipality  or 
a  corporation,  is  essentially  a  cooperative  method 
of  communication.  Likewise  the  electric  light, 
the  trolley-car,  the  water  supply  system  and 
many  other  utilities  of  the  modern  city  are 
brought  into  being  by  the  needs  and  contribu- 
tions of  large  numbers  of  people.  Cities  differ 
greatly  in  the  extent  of  their  cooperative  enter- 
prises but  there  is  no  mistaking  the  trend  to- 
ward the  enlargement  of  municipal  undertak- 
ings. The  successful  cities  of  Germany  above 
referred  to  are  the  ones  that  have  taken  to 
themselves  the  largest  measure  of  the  business 
of  the  municipality.  We  might  almost  say  that 

[12] 


skilful  management  and  enlarged  city  functions 
have  gone  hand  in  hand. 

It  is  clearly  evident  that  cooperation  calls  for 
a  higher  degree  of  intelligence  than  competition 
or  individual  effort.  Any  one  can  dig  a  well, 
but  a  trained  engineer  is  required  to  construct 
a  city  water  works  system.  A  kerosene  lamp 
is  easy  to  manage,  but  the  services  of  experts 
of  various  kinds  are  required  to  run  an  electric 
light  plant.  A  higher  degree  of  honesty  is  also 
required  for  cooperative  undertakings.  When 
large  numbers  of  people  are  dependent  for  com- 
fort, health  and  life  on  the  work  of  one,  that 
one  must  not  fail  in  his  task.  Happily  the 
modern  city  is  not  lacking  in  men  of  intelligence 
and  honor. 

We  have  thus  briefly  set  forth  some  of  the 
causes  and  elements  of  the  modern  city.  Taken 
together  they  produce  a  new  and  better  civ- 
ilization than  the  world  has  previously  known. 
However,  in  spite  of  the  great  progress  that  has 
been  wrought  many  of  the  evils  that  have  long 
afflicted  society  still  persist.  Poverty,  drunken- 
ness, gambling,  prostitution,  crime  and  disease 
are  found  in  the  modern  city  and  greatly  lessen 
its  effectiveness.  Without  them  the  sum  of  the 
world's  happiness  would  be  increased  many  fold. 
The  greed  and  oppression  of  the  very  rich — the 
great  captains  of  industry,  the  magnates  of 

[13] 


MODERN    CITIES 

public  utilities  and  human  necessities  are  felt 
as  never  before  in  the  world's  history.  In 
America  these  men  of  great  wealth  control  the 
railroads,  the  trolley-lines  in  cities,  the  gas  and 
electric  lighting  plants,  and  most  of  the  supply 
of  coal,  oil,  meat,  flour  and  sugar.  Incidentally 
they  also  control  political  parties  and  city  and 
state  governments.  Ignorance,  also  is  still 
found  in  the  modern  city.  The  progress  of  the 
modern  city  that  we  have  described  is  due  to  the 
thought  and  work  of  comparatively  few  men 
and  women.  The  great  mass  of  the  people  are 
still  to  be  brought  from  darkness  into  light. 

The  city  of  to-day  therefore  is  not  without 
its  problems.  In  fact  in  the  light  of  our  pres- 
ent knowledge  these  problems  seem  more  seri- 
ous than  ever  before.  We  no  longer  say  that 
since  certain  evils  have  always  existed,  they 
must  always  exist.  The  evil  now  challenges  our 
skill,  intelligence  and  genius  and  we  make  bold 
to  root  it  out. 

In  the  chapters  that  follow  we  set  forth 
briefly  the  achievements  wrought  and  problems 
solved  in  certain  cities  of  Europe  and  America 
and  endeavor  to  point  out  the  way  of  progress 
for  cities  that  have  not  yet  attained  the  desired 
goal. 


[141 


CHAPTER    II 

CITY   PLANNING 

CITY  planning,  as  the  term  implies,  is  the 
science  of  designing  cities.  It  includes  the  lay- 
ing out  of  streets,  boulevards  and  parkways; 
the  location  and  arrangement  of  civic  centers, 
squares,  playgrounds  and  parks;  the  designing 
of  sewers  and  water  supply  systems ;  the  group- 
ing of  public  buildings;  the  planning  of  river 
fronts,  docks,  terminals  and  stations;  the  deter- 
mination of  routes  for  trolley-lines,  overhead 
railways,  subways  and  steam  roads;  the  division 
of  cities  into  zones  for  the  grouping  of  like 
industries  and  the  separation  of  residential  sec- 
tions from  those  devoted  to  commerce  and  man- 
ufacturing; the  regulation  of  the  size  of  lots 
and  the  size  and  character  of  buildings;  and 
many  other  matters  pertaining  to  the  develop- 
ment of  cities. 

The  purpose  of  city  planning  is  to  make  cities 
efficient  and  beautiful.  The  city  is  considered 
a  physical  unit  and  one  part  is  planned  with 
reference  to  all  other  parts.  Communication 
between  the  various  parts  is  made  as  direct  and 

[15] 


MODERN    CITIES 

as  easy  as  possible.  Public  buildings  are 
grouped  in  a  central  location  often  about  a 
public  square  to  form  an  attractive  civic  center. 
Factories  are  located  near  railroads,  canals  and 
rivers  in  order  to  facilitate  the  shipping  and 
transporting  of  goods.  The  wholesale  section 
is  placed  in  close  proximity  to  the  freight  ter- 
minals and  the  retail  sections  on  the  principal 
lines  of  communication  between  the  suburbs  and 
the  center  of  the  city.  Thus  the  time,  energy  and 
expense  of  the  citizens  are  economized  and  the 
parts  of  the  city  are  coordinated  so  that  each 
serves  the  whole. 

The  city  is  also  made  efficient  from  a  sanitary 
point  of  view.  The  streets  and  squares  are 
laid  out  in  such  a  manner  that  each  home  is 
insured  an  ample  supply  of  sunlight  and  fresh 
air.  Proper  drainage  is  secured  and  fresh  water 
in  abundance  is  supplied.  The  homes  them- 
selves are  constructed  to  meet  the  most  rigid 
sanitary  requirements. 

In  planning  the  various  parts  of  a  city, 
beauty  as  well  as  efficiency  is  taken  into  account. 
A  city  must  be  pleasant  to  look  upon.  No 
matter  what  its  other  properties  may  be,  if  it 
is  not  beautiful  it  is  unsatisfactory  from  the 
modern  point  of  view.  Modern  city  planning 
therefore  gives  an  artistic  finish  to  all  its  work. 
The  result  is  the  city  efficient  and  the  city 
beautiful. 

[16] 


CITY    PLANNING 

Although  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury has  witnessed  a  marvelous  development  of 
interest  in  the  planning  and  replanning  of  cities, 
city  planning  is  not  a  new  science.  The  oldest 
cities  of  which  we  know  were  laid  out  on  a 
definite  plan.  According  to  Professor  Petrie 
the  recently  excavated  town  of  Kahun,  built 
about  3000  B.  C.  for  the  workmen  who  were 
constructing  the  pyramid  Illahun,  was  laid  out 
symmetrically  on  rectangular  lines.  The  an- 
cient Greek  cities  were  remarkable  for  the 
grandeur  and  magnificence  with  which  they 
planned  their  temples  and  other  public  build- 
ings. Conjectural  restorations  of  some  of  these 
cities  show  that  while  the  shops  and  dwelling- 
houses  of  the  Greeks  were  comparatively  in- 
significant, the  public  places  and  buildings  were 
laid  out  on  a  scale  that  has  never  been  sur- 
passed. The  skill  of  the  landscape  artist  was 
combined  with  that  of  the  architect  as  in  modern 
city  planning,  and  the  effect  produced  was 
worthy  of  that  nation  of  artists. 

Of  the  early  cities  of  Italy,  Pompeii  is  the 
only  one  that  has  been  preserved  in  its  original 
condition.  The  uncovered  walls  and  streets  of 
this  unfortunate  city  show  that  much  intelligent 
effort  had  been  put  forth  to  make  the  town  a 
fit  place  for  the  abode  of  human  beings.  The 
forum,  or  civic  center  of  the  town,  was  laid 
out  on  a  magnificent  scale  and  was  sur- 

[17] 


MODERN    CITIES 

rounded  by  costly  temples  and  other  public 
buildings.  The  streets  of  the  city  were  narrow 
when  judged  by  modern  standards,  but  the 
principal  thoroughfares  were  made  wider  than 
the  residential  streets.  As  the  road-beds  on 
many  of  the  streets  were  not  wide  enough  to 
permit  one  chariot  to  pass  another,  traffic  reg- 
ulations must  have  been  strictly  enforced.  In 
its  plan  the  Pompeiian  street  closely  resembles 
the  street  of  a  modern  city  having  a  road-bed 
slightly  elevated  in  the  center,  a  curb  on  each 
side  and  sidewalks  between  the  curbs  and  the 
buildings.  The  curbs  and  sidewalks  are  from 
two  to  three  feet  above  the  road-bed  and  at 
crossings  large  stone  blocks  are  set  in  the  road- 
bed at  convenient  distances  to  form  stepping- 
stones  for  pedestrians.  Stone  drinking  foun- 
tains are  provided  at  convenient  places  along 
the  street.  The  pavement  is  formed  of  unhewn 
blocks  of  stone  and  is  rougher  than  any  modern 
city  would  tolerate. 

In  striking  contrast  with  Pompeii  with  its 
narrow  streets,  stands  the  city  of  Turin,  a  city 
of  northern  Italy  originally  laid  out  by  the 
Emperor  Augustus.  This  town  has  developed 
greatly  in  recent  years,  but  its  original  rectan- 
gular street  plan  has  been  preserved.  The  width 
and  beauty  of  the  streets  of  Turin  have  given 
it  distinction  among  Italian  cities  and  have  done 
much  to  enhance  its  prosperity  and  healthful- 

[18] 


CITY   PLANNING 

ness.  Turin's  success  forms  a  good  illustration 
of  the  value  to  a  town  of  a  city  plan  of  the 
right  kind. 

The  medieval  cities  of  Europe  grew  up  in  a 
time  of  great  insecurity  and  disorder.  A  city 
in  the  dark  days  following  the  downfall  of  the 
Roman  Empire  was  a  place  of  refuge,  an  ex- 
tended fortress  which  served  more  as  a  place 
of  protection  than  as  a  home  for  its  occupants. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  these  towns  of 
the  middle  ages  were  built  exceedingly  com- 
pact, with  narrow  streets  and  few  open  spaces. 
The  town  had  to  have  a  great  wall  about  it  and 
this  wall  had  to  be  as  short  as  possible.  All 
other  considerations  had  to  give  way  to  the 
necessity  of  securing  proper  protection. 

If  we  examine,  however,  towns  like  Nurem- 
berg, Rothenburg  and  Buttstedt,  which  still  re- 
tain much  of  their  medieval  character,  we  find 
in  spite  of  cramped  conditions  delightful  pic- 
turesqueness  and  beauty.  Whether  these  artis- 
tic effects  are  the  result  of  foresight  and  plan- 
ning, or  were  produced  unconsciously  by  builders 
endowed  with  a  keen  sense  of  the  fitness  and 
proportion  of  things,  is  not  known. 

During  the  Renaissance  period  town  plan- 
ning underwent  a  transition.  Irregularity  gave 
way  to  formality  in  the  layout  of  streets  and 
squares.  The  influence  of  the  Greek  architec- 
ture was  clearly  evident.  The  more  hopeful 

[19] 


MODERN    CITIES 

aspect  of  life  on  the  part  of  the  people  became 
manifest  in  enlarged  conceptions  of  city  plans. 
Princes  vied  with  each  other  in  laying  out  and 
embellishing  towns  within  their  jurisdiction,  usu- 
ally at  the  seat  of  government.  The  formal 
layouts  of  Karlsruhe  and  Mannheim  are  ex- 
amples. 

One  of  the  most  noteworthy  plans  of  the 
seventeenth  century  was  that  prepared  by  Sir 
Christopher  Wren  for  the  reconstruction  of 
London  after  the  great  fire  of  1666.  We  quote 
the  description  of  this  great  plan  given  by  Mr. 
Elmes  in  his  life  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren. 

"In  order  therefore  to  a  proper  reformation 
Dr.  Wren,  pursuant  to  the  Royal  Command 
immediately  after  the  fire,  took  an  exact  sur- 
vey of  the  whole  area  and  confines  of  the  burn- 
ing, having  traced  with  great  trouble  and  hazard 
the  great  plain  of  ashes  and  ruins,  and  designed 
a  plan  or  model  of  a  new  city  in  which  the 
deformities  and  inconveniences  of  the  old  town 
were  remedied  by  enlarging  the  streets  and 
lands,  and  carrying  them  as  near  parallel  to  one 
another  as  might  be;  avoiding  if  compatible 
with  greater  conveniences  all  acute  angles,  by 
seating  all  the  parochial  churches  conspicuous 
and  insular,  by  forming  the  most  public  places 
into  large  piazzas  the  centers  of  eight  ways;  by 
uniting  the  halls  of  twelve  chief  companies  into 
one  regular  space  annexed  to  the  Guildhall; 

[20] 


by  making  a  commodious  quay  on  the  whole 
bank  of  the  river  from  Blackfriars  to  the  Tower. 
Moreover  in  contriving  the  general  plan  the 
following  particulars  were  chiefly  considered 
and  proposed: 

"The  streets  to  be  of  three  magnitudes;  the 
three  principal  leading  straight  through  the 
city,  and  one  or  two  cross  streets  to  be  at  least 
90  feet  wide;  others  60  feet  and  lanes  about 
30  feet,  excluding  all  narrow  dark  alleys  with- 
out thoroughfares  and  courts.  The  Exchange 
to  stand  free  in  the  middle  of  a  piazza  and  be 
as  it  were  the  nave  or  center  of  the  town,  from 
whence  the  60  feet  streets  as  so  many  ways 
should  proceed  to  all  principal  parts  of  the  city ; 
the  building  to  be  contrived  after  the  form  of 
the  Roman  Forum  with  double  porticoes.  Many 
streets  also  to  radiate  upon  the  bridge.  The 
streets  of  the  first  and  second  magnitude  to  be 
carried  on  as  straight  as  possible  and  to  center 
in  four  or  five  piazzas. 

"The  Key  or  open  Wharf  on  the  banks  of 
the  Thames  to  be  spacious  and  convenient,  with- 
out any  interruption  and  with  some  large  docks 
for  deep  laden  barges. 

"The  Canal  to  be  cut  up  Bridewell  120  feet 
wide,  with  sashes  (sluices  or  floodgates)  at 
Holborn  Bridge  and  at  the  mouth  to  cleanse  it 
of  all  filth,  and  stores  for  coal  on  each  side. 
The  churches  to  be  designed  according  to  the 

[21] 


MODERN    CITIES 

best  forms  for  capacity  and  hearing,  adorned 
with  useful  porticoes  and  lofty  ornamental  tow- 
ers and  steeples  in  the  greater  parishes.  All 
church  yards,  gardens  and  unnecessary  vacuities 
and  all  trades  that  use  great  fires  or  yield  noise- 
some  smells  to  be  placed  out  of  the  town." 

The  narrow  vision  or  selfishness  of  the  prop- 
erty owners  of  London  prevented  the  adoption 
of  Wren's  plan.  They  feared  to  trust  a  public 
commission  even  temporarily  and  consequently 
that  great  city  lost  an  opportunity  that,  had  it 
been  seized,  would  have  saved  millions  of  pounds 
in  alterations  and  greatly  promoted  the  conve- 
nience of  its  citizens  for  all  succeeding  gener- 
ations. 

The  city  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  is  probably 
the  most  conspicuous  example  of  a  city  that 
has  consistently  followed  in  its  development  a 
plan  that  was  laid  out  at  the  beginning  of  its 
life  as  a  city.  After  the  site  of  the  national 
capitol  had  been  chosen  in  the  spring  of  1791, 
Pierre  Charles  L'Enfant,  a  French  engineer, 
who  had  done  service  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
was  chosen  to  prepare  a  plan  of  the  town. 
With  rare  vision  L'Enfant  made  a  design  that 
not  only  met  with  the  approval  of  Washington 
and  of  the  commissioners  in  charge,  but  meets 
the  approval  of  the  expert  city  planners  of  the 
present  day. 

The  groundwork  of  the  plan  is  formed  by  a 

[22] 


CITY   PLANNING 

series  of  streets  running  east  and  west,  crossed 
at  right  angles  by  another  series  running  north 
and  south.  These  rectangular  streets  are  inter- 
sected by  twenty-one  avenues  running  diago- 
nally through  the  city  and  converging  at  the 
Capitol,  the  White  House  and  other  centers 
and  squares.  As  the  streets  are  of  generous 
width  and  the  open  squares  large  and  numerous, 
the  city  has  become  famous  throughout  the 
world  for  its  convenience  and  beauty. 

About  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  city  of  Paris,  France,  undertook  to  remodel 
its  plan  to  meet  the  requirements  of  its  growth 
and  its  increased  traffic  and  commerce.  Under 
Napoleon  III  as  emperor,  and  Baron  Hauss- 
mann  as  prefect  of  the  Seine,  an  elaborate  modi- 
fication of  the  city  was  undertaken.  The  plan- 
ning of  the  work  was  placed  in  charge  of  M. 
Deschamps  arid  he  was  given  the  title  of  "Con- 
servateur  du  Plan  de  Paris."  The  splendid 
boulevards  of  modern  Paris,  the  convenience 
and  beauty  of  the  city  are  due  in  a  very  large 
measure  to  the  breadth  of  vision  of  M.  Des- 
champs. His  work  was  characterized  by  great 
boldness  and  courage.  When  it  was  once  de- 
termined that  a  broad,  straight  avenue  was 
needed  to  take  the  place  of  narrow,  crooked 
streets,  nothing  was  permitted  to  stand  in  the 
way  of  the  execution  of  the  plan.  The  expense 
incurred  was  enormous,  but  there  was  no  other 

[23] 


MODERN    CITIES 

way  to  secure  the  desired  results.  Deschamps' 
planning  was  along  formal  lines  and  on  a  mag- 
nificent scale.  While  it  has  often  been  stated 
that  the  main  purpose  in  making  the  new  ave- 
nues broad  and  straight  was  to  facilitate  the 
handling  of  troops  thereon,  such  purpose  is 
now  considered  as  having  been  subordinate  to 
that  of  promoting  the  beauty  of  the  city  and 
the  convenience  of  the  citizens.  One  noteworthy 
feature  of  the  plan  was  the  converging  of  av- 
enues into  places,  the  center  of  which  was  orna- 
mented with  imposing  monuments.  This  ar- 
rangement made  possible  the  splendid  vistas  for 
which  Paris  is  noted  and  which  appeal  so 
greatly  to  the  pride  of  the  Parisians.  Paris 
remade,  resembles  Washington  in  its  plan,  but 
it  secured  only  through  enormous  sacrifice  what 
Washington  secured  by  the  exercise  of  a  rare 
degree  of  foresight. 

Vienna  is  another  capital  that  has  been  made 
over  during  the  past  half  century.  Up  to  1858 
Vienna  was  a  walled  city.  As  the  city  had 
increased  greatly  in  size  since  the  walls  were 
built,  the  enclosed  part  of  the  town  was  sorely 
congested.  Rents  had  become  excessive  and 
sanitary  conditions  were  almost  intolerable. 
Just  outside  the  city  walls  was  a  moat  and  sur- 
rounding the  moat  was  a  strip  of  unoccupied 
territory  known  as  the  glacis,  which  was  kept 
bare  for  military  purposes.  Beyond  the  glacis 

[24] 


CITY   PLANNING 

was  a  series  of  suburbs  which  formed  an  almost 
complete  circle  about  the  central  town.  In  the 
last  days  of  1857  after  a  prolonged  discussion  it 
was  decided  to  destroy  the  fortifications.  The 
Austrian  government  took  charge  of  the  matter 
and  a  transformation  such  as  few  cities  have 
ever  witnessed  was  undertaken.  The  walls  were 
thrown  into  the  moat,  the  ground  graded  and 
a  magnificent  ringstrasse  was  constructed  en- 
tirely around  the  old  town.  Four-fifths  of  the 
land  occupied  by  walls,  moat  and  glacis  were 
reserved  for  public  purposes.  One-fifth  was 
cut  up  into  streets  and  sold  to  private  parties. 
The  reserved  part  was  cut  up  into  parks  and 
sites  for  public  buildings.  Magnificent  struc- 
tures were  erected  which  have  become  famous 
throughout  the  world  for  their  beauty  of  archi- 
tecture and  location.  This  ringstrasse  is  now 
considered  by  many  to  be  the  finest  street  in  the 
world.  Perhaps  the  most  noteworthy  feature  of 
this  whole  improvement  was  the  fact  that  the 
money  received  for  the  lots  sold  covered  the 
cost  of  the  entire  improvement. 

The  remarkable  growth  of  cities  throughout 
the  world  during  the  past  quarter  century  has 
impelled  a  closer  study  of  city  life  and  a  better 
adaptation  of  means  to  ends  in  the  construction 
of  cities.  Paris  and  Vienna  met  problems  a 
half  century  ago  that  most  flourishing  cities 
have  since  been  compelled  to  meet  to  a  greater 

[25] 


MODERN    CITIES 

or  lesser  degree.  The  Italian  cities,  Genoa, 
Naples,  Rome  and  Milan  have  each  spent  many 
million  dollars  in  the  effort  to  live  an  enlarged 
life  in  accordance  with  modern  standards.  In 
Germany,  France  and  England  likewise  there 
has  been  a  gradual  transformation  of  old  towns 
into  modern  cities. 

The  town  planner  therefore  has  been  more 
in  demand  than  ever  before  and  the  science  of 
town  planning  has  consequently  undergone  a 
remarkable  development.  M.  Deschamps'  trans- 
formation of  Paris  along  formal  geometric  lines 
served  as  a  model  to  other  European  planners 
for  a  score  of  years.  In  the  year  1889,  however, 
there  appeared  a  work  on  the  building  of  cities 
written  by  Camillo  Sitte  that  presented  an  en- 
tirely different  theory  from  that  followed  by 
Deschamps.  Sitte,  by  a  study  of  medieval 
towns,  reached  the  conclusion  that  more  pic- 
turesque effects  could  be  produced  by  less  regu- 
larity and  by  a  freer  use  of  curved  and  diagonal 
lines.  His  book  "Der  Stadtebau"  gave  rise  to 
what  is  known  as  the  informal  school  of  city 
planners.  This  school  differs  from  the  formal 
school  in  its  avoidance  of  uniform  rectangular 
blocks  and  of  formal  geometric  figures  in  the 
layout  of  streets,  parks  and  open  places. 

While  Sitte's  work  has  greatly  influenced 
city  planning  in  all  parts  of  the  world  it  is  only 
in  Germany  that  his  ideas  have  been  fully  car- 

[26] 


CITY    PLANNING 

ried  out.  In  America  there  has  been  a  strong 
tendency  to  follow  the  checkerboard  or  gridiron 
plan  in  the  building  of  cities.  This  was  the 
plan  William  Penn  used  in  designing  Phila- 
delphia and  it  has  been  adopted  with  little  vari- 
ation in  the  majority  of  American  cities  built 
since  that  time.  While  the  newer  plans  for 
American  cities  show  considerable  departure 
from  the  usual  type  there  is  still  a  great  contrast 
between  the  German  and  the  American  plans. 
While  much  may  be  said  in  favor  of  both  the 
formal  and  the  informal  types  of  plans,  the 
adoption  of  the  one  or  the  other  in  a  given  place 
would  depend  very  largely  on  the  traditions  of 
the  community  and  the  physical  characteristics 
of  the  site.  A  level  site  with  no  obstructions 
lends  itself  readily  to  a  formal  layout;  on  the 
other  hand,  a  hilly  site,  or  one  bordered  with  a 
curving  stream,  invites  irregularity.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  formality  or  informality 
are  not  ends  in  themselves,  but  merely  means  of 
securing  certain  types  of  beauty  and  perhaps 
other  necessary  or  desirable  results.  The  health, 
comfort  and  convenience  of  the  people  who  are 
to  occupy  the  site  are  always  the  first  consider- 
ations. Beauty  must  also  be  obtained,  but  it 
should  have  a  secondary  place.  The  best  results 
will  probably  be  secured,  not  by  a  strict  ad- 
herence to  any  one  school  but  by  using  the  best 
possible  combination  of  ideas  in  any  given  case. 

[27] 


MODERN    CITIES 

Centers,  Squares  and  Places 

The  life  of  the  ancient  Greek  and  Roman 
cities  centered  in  the  agora  or  forum,  the  place 
of  public  assemblies,  of  musical  festivals,  of 
public  speaking.  About  a  great  square  adorned 
with  statuary  and  triumphal  monuments  stood 
the  temples  of  justice  and  the  temples  of  the 
gods.  Here  were  brought  together  the  splendor 
and  magnificence  of  the  city.  Another  open 
place  of  the  ancient  city  no  less  essential  to  its 
well-being,  but  far  less  costly  in  its  structure, 
was  the  public  market-place.  These  two  open 
squares  of  the  early  city  were  the  fore-types 
of  the  modern  civic  center,  public  square  and 
market-place.  The  last  named  has  come  down 
through  the  ages  essentially  unchanged. 

In  the  modern  city,  however,  there  have 
arisen  many  new  types  of  places  and  squares, 
serving  a  variety  of  purposes.  The  modern 
civic  center  preserves  something  of  the  idea  of 
the  Roman  forum,  but  it  is  not  so  much  a  meet- 
ing-place as  an  architectural  square  for  the 
effective  grouping  of  public  buildings.  Modern 
city  planning  places  great  emphasis  on  the  civic 
center  and  many  elaborate  types  are  now  in 
course  of  construction  in  this  country.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  main  civic  center  of  a  town,  there  are 
also  being  created  subordinate  civic  centers  for 
the  various  localities  which  make  up  the  city. 

[28] 


CITY   PLANNING 

At  a  convenient  point  in  such  a  locality,  there 
are  grouped  the  public  and  semi-public  build- 
ings that  serve  the  immediate  needs  of  the  com- 
munity. Schools,  fire  stations,  police  stations, 
churches  and  social  clubs  are  harmoniously 
arranged  in  this  way.  The  convenience  of  the 
people  is  thus  served  and  the  beauty  of  the  lo- 
cality greatly  enhanced. 

The  open  square,  or  place  at  the  junction  of 
several  roads,  owes  its  popularity  to  its  effective 
use  in  Paris.  In  M.  Deschamps'  plan  the  great 
boulevards  were  made  to  end  in  "places"  at  the 
center  of  which  imposing  monuments  were 
erected.  The  circulation  of  traffic  was  thus  fa- 
cilitated and  a  large  number  of  splendid  vistas 
created ;  these  have  done  much  to  increase  the 
city's  reputation  for  beauty.  In  the  Place  de 
1'Etoile,  for  example,  twelve  splendid  boule- 
vards come  together  and  end  at  the  magnificent 
Arc  de  Triomphe  which  adorns  the  center  of  the 
open  place. 

Other  types  of  open  places  are  those  used  to 
prevent  congestion  and  to  form  suitable  ap- 
proaches to  public  buildings.  An  open  space 
of  this  kind  between  the  railroad  station  and  the 
street  is  of  the  greatest  service  in  enabling  pas- 
sengers to  get  their  bearings  and  in  avoiding 
the  crowding  of  vehicles  of  all  kinds.  On  the 
continent  of  Europe  where  the  railroads  are 
owned  by  the  state,  almost  invariably  an  open 

[29] 


MODERN    CITIES 

place  leads  up  to  the  railroad  station.  In  this 
country  the  railroad  square  is  not  so  common, 
but  its  utility  is  everywhere  recognized.  A  spa- 
cious approach  to  public  buildings  sets  off  their 
architectural  features  and  gives  them  due  promi- 
nence. As  large  crowds  frequently  visit  such 
buildings  the  open  space  about  them  also  serves 
to  prevent  congestion. 

In  tenement  sections  open  squares  are  fre- 
quently introduced  as  playgrounds  or  recrea- 
tion centers.  They  furnish  safe  places  for 
children  to  play  in  and  by  giving  opportunities 
for  adults  to  rest  in  the  open  air,  greatly  pro- 
mote the  health  of  the  neighborhood.  It  is  now 
generally  agreed  that  a  large  number  of  small 
parks  and  play-grounds  of  this  character  are  to 
be  preferred  to  a  few  large  parks.  The  small 
park  or  open  square  close  at  hand  will  be  used, 
while  many  people  will  not  take  the  time  or 
trouble  to  go  a  long  distance  to  get  the  benefit 
of  a  larger  park. 

In  order  that  street-car  traffic  may  be  facili- 
tated, modern  city  planners  are  providing  for 
trolley  centers,  or  arterial  centers,  as  they  are 
sometimes  called.  Usually  a  paved  open  square 
is  utilized.  The  various  street-car  lines  run  into 
the  square  and  each  line  has  its  definite  stopping 
place  from  which  an  exchange  of  passengers 
takes  place.  A  well-arranged  center  of  this 
kind,  with  a  covered  waiting-room  as  well  as 

[30] 


CITY   PLANNING 

open-air  seats  and  with  a  manager  in  charge  to 
post  or  announce  the  departure  of  the  cars 
of  the  various  lines,  greatly  promotes  the  con- 
venience of  all  those  who  use  the  trolleys  and  is 
of  assistance  to  the  stranger  who  is  unfamiliar 
with  the  system.  Such  a  trolley  center  is  best 
placed  near  the  heart  of  the  retail  district  of  the 
city  or  in  close  proximity  to  the  principal  rail- 
road station  and  should  be  so  constructed  that 
it  will  not  block  the  streets  or  in  any  way  cause 
congestion. 

Much  discussion  has  arisen  among  city  plan- 
ners as  to  the  most  effective  method  of  arrange- 
ment for  public  buildings  and  monuments  in  city 
streets  and  squares.  Most  of  the  open  places  of 
medieval  cities  are  dominated  by  great  buildings, 
usually  a  cathedral.  Whether  intentionally 
planned  or  not,  many  of  these  places  are  ar- 
ranged so  that  effective  views  of  the  cathedral 
may  be  had  from  any  point  about  the  square.  The 
entrances  of  the  streets  into  the  square  are  also 
arranged  so  that  an  impression  of  an  enclosure 
is  produced.  The  Piazza  San  Marco  of  Venice 
is  a  notably  successful  place  of  this  kind.  The 
center  of  the  little  German  town  of  Buttstedt  is 
another  familiar  illustration  of  the  same  idea. 
The  new  city  hall  of  Leipzig  is  so  placed  that  it 
affords  pleasing  views  from  several  streets. 
The  use  of  a  monument  or  an  obelisk  in  the 
center  of  a  square  as  employed  in  Paris,  is  op- 

[31] 


MODERN    CITIES 

posed  by  Camillo  Sitte,  who  believes  that  more 
effective  pictures  may  be  produced  by  placing 
monuments  at  or  near  the  corners. 

In  planning  a  civic  center  in  most  American 
cities  our  experts  have  usually  arranged  for  a 
broad  esplanade,  or  parkway,  flanked  by  minor 
public  buildings  leading  to  the  capitol  or  prin- 
cipal building.  When  the  landscape  artist's 
work  is  well  done  and  the  buildings  are  har- 
moniously designed,  a  most  inspiring  picture  is 
produced.  The  magnificent  effects  in  stucco 
and  landscape-gardening  at  the  Chicago 
World's  Fair  showed  the  marvelous  results  that 
may  be  secured  when  the  artist  is  given  a  free 
hand.  This  temporary  city  proved  an  inspira- 
tion to  city  builders  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  Street  System 

In  making  plans  for  a  new  town  the  first 
thing  to  determine  is  the  center.  If  a  town  is 
to  have  a  railroad,  the  determination  of  its 
course  and  the  location  of  the  station  are  the 
next  considerations.  When  these  matters  are 
settled  the  streets  may  be  laid  out.  Many  dif- 
ferent systems  are  used  in  laying  out  highways 
for  a  town.  The  American  system  following  the 
plan  of  William  Penn  for  Philadelphia  has  been 
that  of  a  trellis  work  consisting  of  a  series  of 
streets  running  parallel  in  one  direction  and 
crossed  at  right  angles  by  another  parallel  se- 

[32] 


CITY   PLANNING 

ries.  Such  a  trellis  system  divides  the  town  into 
rectangular  blocks,  the  most  convenient  form 
for  division  into  building  lots.  When  consid- 
ered from  the  standpoint  of  convenience  to  traf- 
fic, however,  the  trellis  system  is  found  lacking. 
When  streets  run  at  right  angles  to  one  another 
much  of  the  traffic  must  travel  two  sides  of  a 
triangle  in  order  to  reach  its  destination;  hence 
a  modification  of  the  trellis  system  is  made  by 
the  use  of  diagonal  streets.  This  was  done  with 
good  effect  in  the  plan  of  Washington,  D.  C. 
While  these  diagonal  streets  greatly  facilitate 
traffic,  they  are  open  to  objection  on  account 
of  the  many  irregular  building  lots  and  useless 
triangular  areas  produced. 

The  ideal  system  of  streets  worked  out  by 
modern  city  planners  is  one  resembling  the  web 
of  a  spider.  From  the  center  of  the  town  a 
series  of  radiating  streets  are  constructed  like 
the  spokes  of  a  wheel  running  out  from  the  hub. 
Cross  streets  are  constructed  on  curved  or  rec- 
tangular lines  to  fill  in  the  space  between  the 
radiating  streets.  There  are  also  straight  high- 
ways cut  across  the  wheel  at  various  points  so 
that  one  may  go  directly  from  one  side  of  the 
town  to  the  other.  At  appropriate  distances 
from  the  center  broad  ring  streets  forming  com- 
plete circles  may  be  constructed.  Such  an  ideal 
system  would  not  be  possible  except  in  a  com- 
paratively level  district  where  the  town  could 

[33] 


MODERN    CITIES 

be  laid  out  without  reference  to  existing  struc- 
tures or  the  ownership  of  plots.  Usually  the 
design  of  the  street  system  is  restricted  by  va- 
rious natural  conditions  such  as  rivers,  hills  and 
ravines  and  the  work  of  the  planner  is  further 
limited  by  the  necessity  of  fitting  his  design  to 
a  system  already  long  in  use.  The  spider-web 
system,  however,  is  of  great  value  as  an  ideal 
and  in  new  towns  or  the  newer  sections  of  estab- 
lished towns  much  may  be  done  to  introduce 
approximations  of  the  ideal  that  will  greatly 
facilitate  traffic. 

The  determination  of  the  width  and  char- 
acter of  streets  is  a  matter  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance. To  do  this  successfully  a  planner  must 
know  something  of  the  volume  of  traffic  that 
is  likely  to  pass  through  any  thoroughfare.  In 
a  new  town  the  traffic  may  be  required  to  follow 
the  street  prepared  for  it,  but  in  older  towns 
the  habits  of  the  people  are  not  easily  changed. 
William  Penn,  in  designing  Philadelphia,  made 
Market  and  Broad  Streets  wider  than  the  others 
in  order  that  these  two  thoroughfares  might  be- 
come the  leading  business  streets  of  the  city. 
The  business  of  the  city,  however,  did  not  follow 
the  scheme  as  Penn  anticipated.  For  many 
years  some  of  the  narrower  streets  were  more 
active  thoroughfares  than  Market  Street. 

The  streets  take  up  a  large  portion  of  the  land 
of  a  city  and  their  construction  and  maintenance 

[34] 


CITY    PLANNING 

involve  great  expense.  It  follows  therefore  that 
they  should  be  planned  to  meet  the  requirements 
in  any  particular  case.  The  construction  of 
broad  paved  streets  where  they  are  unnecessary 
is  almost  as  serious  a  mistake  as  the  construction 
of  narrow  streets  where  the  traffic  requires 
broad  ones.  The  principal  thoroughfares  of  a 
city  should  be  wide  enough  to  carry  easily  all 
the  traffic  which  will  pass  over  them.  The 
minor  business  streets  can  be  made  narrower 
and  the  paved  part  of  residence  streets  still 
narrower.  No  fixed  general  rules  can  be  set 
down  as  to  the  desirable  width  of  streets,  but 
as  street  pavement  itself  adds  nothing  to  the 
beauty  or  value  of  a  city  and  is  costly  to  con- 
struct and  maintain,  it  is  clear  it  should  not  be 
laid  if  not  necessary.  In  residence  sections  the 
plan  of  having  a  narrow  macadam  roadway  with 
wide  grass  plots  in  front  of  the  houses  on  each 
side  is  a  most  excellent  one.  This  method  of 
construction  is  not  expensive  and  permits  the 
paved  portion  of  the  street  to  be  widened  in  case 
conditions  in  the  city  change  so  as  to  require  it. 
The  tendency  in  most  cities  has  been  to  make 
the  paved  surface  of  the  street  wider  than  nec- 
essary and  to  build  the  houses  close  to  the  side- 
walk. This  system  of  construction  is  unneces- 
sarily expensive  and  is  unsatisfactory  from  an 
esthetic  and  sanitary  standpoint. 

The  actual  construction  of  streets  is  not  usu- 

[35] 


MODERN    CITIES 

ally  considered  a  part  of  a  city  planner's  work, 
but  the  success  of  the  plan  will  depend  very 
largely  upon  the  working  out  of  details  such 
as  the  paving  of  the  streets,  the  laying  of  the 
sidewalks,  etc.  Certain  requirements  should  be 
insisted  upon.  The  number  of  poles  in  a  street 
should  be  reduced  to  the  minimum.  No  wires 
except  those  necessary  for  the  trolley-lines 
should  be  strung  above  ground.  All  piping  and 
wiring  should  be  in  galleries  at  the  side  of  the 
street  between  the  curb  and  sidewalk  or  under- 
neath the  sidewalk,  or  in  the  rear  of  the  lots. 
Streets  should  be  adorned  with  lines  of  trees 
wherever  possible  and  great  care  should  be 
taken  to  produce  uniformity  in  the  trees  so 
planted.  While  in  some  cities  a  variety  of  trees 
are  used  on  different  streets,  the  trees  of  one 
street  should  be  of  the  same  variety  and  as 
near  as  possible  of  the  same  age.  On  broad 
streets  effective  results  are  produced  by  plant- 
ing rows  of  trees  through  the  middle  of  the 
street.  Sometimes  a  pleasant  promenade 
through  the  middle  of  the  street  may  be  bor- 
dered by  trees.  Sometimes  the  width  of  the 
street  will  permit  two  double  rows  of  trees  as 
in  the  Avenue  de  la  Grande  Armee  in  Paris. 
Where  a  street  can  be  divided  by  trees  in  this 
way,  it  is  desirable  to  have  a  road  in  the  center 
for  the  fast-going  vehicles  and  roads  on  the  side 

[36] 


CITY   PLANNING 

for  the  market  wagons  and  other  slow-moving 
vehicles. 

The  arrangement  of  street  intersections  is 
usually  given  less  attention  than  it  deserves. 
In  most  American  cities  the  corners  are  square 
and  there  is  no  modification  of  the  buildings  at 
the  corners.  In  European  cities  much  greater 
variety  is  seen.  Very  picturesque  effects  are 
produced  in  the  old  Gothic  towns  by  the  use  of 
small  irregular  places  at  street  junctions. 
Sometimes  a  triangular  place  is  formed  by  the 
meeting  of  three  streets,  more  often  a  larger 
number  of  streets  enter  the  place.  Although 
the  layout  seems  entirely  irregular,  the  street 
pictures  produced  are  full  of  charm.  The  mod- 
ern German  town  planners  are  imitating  the 
Gothic  towns  in  this  respect,  and  are  making 
a  special  effort  to  secure  pleasing  street  views. 
The  work  is  commendable  so  long  as  the  desired 
results  are  produced  without  interfering  with 
traffic  and  the  general  convenience  of  the  citi- 
zens. No  one  who  has  visited  a  medieval  town 
like  Berne  can  fail  to  appreciate  the  charm  that 
may  come  from  such  apparent  irregularity. 

Street  junctions  in  busy  parts  of  a  city  are 
likely  to  be  places  of  congestion.  When  the 
streets  meet  at  right  angles  one  line  of  traffic 
interferes  with  the  other,  and  if  the  traffic  is 
heavy  the  two  lines  must  use  the  crossing  alter- 

[87] 


MODERN    CITIES 

nately.  This  makes  necessary  the  presence  of 
an  officer  and  considerable  delay  to  vehicles. 
As  a  means  of  overcoming  such  congestion  and 
delay,  it  has  been  suggested  that  at  the  inter- 
section of  busy  thoroughfares  the  traffic  be  made 
to  go  around  a  central  monument.  This  idea 
is  in  practice  at  the  Place  de  1'Etoile,  in  Paris, 
where  twelve  great  boulevards  meet.  The  traf- 
fic passes  without  interruption  about  the  Arc 
de  Triomphe.  There  are  no  collisions  and  no 
officer  is  required  to  direct  the  traffic.  While 
such  an  arrangement  would  not  always  be  pos- 
sible, congestion  at  corners  can  generally  be 
relieved  by  careful  planning. 

Site  Planning 

In  plotting  the  street  system  the  city  planner 
is  working  for  the  entire  community  and  neces- 
sarily must  work  out  a  plan  that  will  form  a 
symmetrical  whole.  Each  part  must  harmonize 
with  every  other  part.  There  may  be  variety 
to  fit  local  conditions,  but  unity  of  plan  must 
never  be  forgotten.  In  site  planning  the  de- 
signer usually  works  for  an  individual  or  real 
estate  company  and  has  a  definite  task  assigned 
him.  The  design  he  works  out  may  harmonize 
with  others  in  the  immediate  vicinity  or  it  may 
not.  Where  the  holdings  of  land  are  small  and 
there  are  few  general  restrictions,  the  result  is 
far  from  a  happy  one.  On  one  plot  the  build- 

[38] 


CITY    PLANNING 

ings  may  be  small  and  crowded,  on  the  next  per- 
haps ample  grounds  will  surround  the  dwellings, 
while  on  the  third  tall  apartment  houses  may 
be  built.  Instances  of  this  kind  are  common 
enough  in  America  where  the  municipality  ex- 
ercises little  control  over  the  plotting  of  sites 
or  the  erection  of  buildings,  but  would  hardly 
be  possible  in  Europe,  where  the  interests  of  the 
whole  community  are  more  carefully  guarded. 
In  some  of  the  German  cities  the  zone  system 
has  been  adopted.  Under  this  system  the  pur- 
poses to  which  the  land  may  be  put  in  any 
locality  are  limited  and  the  nature  of  the  struc- 
tures which  may  be  erected  thereon  is  clearly 
defined.  Factories  are  allotted  certain  sections 
and  cannot  be  built  elsewhere  in  the  city,  The 
wholesale  business  receives  another  allotment 
and  residences  others.  It  is  clear  that  if  the 
zones  are  laid  out  in  a  rational  manner,  the 
interests  of  the  whole  community  will  be  sub- 
served and  the  city  will  be  made  more  efficient 
and  more  beautiful. 

In  the  garden  cities  of  England,  such  as 
Letchworth  and  Hampstead,  the  site  of  the 
town  was  purchased  by  a  company  and  the  town 
was  laid  out  as  a  whole  with  reservations  for 
public  and  semi-public  buildings,  parks,  play- 
grounds and  civic  centers.  The  location  of  fac- 
tories, business  houses  and  stations  was  desig- 
nated and  the  sites  of  the  residences  were  care- 

[39] 


fully  planned.  The  result  has  been  highly 
gratifying  from  every  point  of  view.  The  con- 
venience and  comfort  of  the  citizens  have  been 
promoted,  a  high  degree  of  beauty  has  been 
obtained  and  the  health  of  the  communities  has 
become  far  famed. 

When  these  garden  cities  are  compared  with 
towns  that  have  grown  up  without  planning,  the 
value  of  city  planning  becomes  evident.  In 
the  one  the  needs  of  community  life  are  recog- 
nized and  provided  for;  in  the  other  the  com- 
munity is  ignored  and  each  individual  is  left 
to  follow  his  own  initiative.  In  the  one  a  high 
measure  of  comfort  is  assured  the  individual 
by  his  taking  the  proper  place  in  the  com- 
munity; in  the  other  individuals  clash  in  their 
efforts  to  promote  self-interest,  with  the  re- 
sult that  a  few  secure  the  desired  comforts 
at  the  expense  and  disadvantage  of  many. 


[40] 


CHAPTER  III 

HOME    PLANNING THE    HOUSING    PROBLEM 

CLOSELY  allied  to  city  planning  is  home  plan- 
ning— the  problem  of  securing  sanitary  and 
comfortable  homes  for  all  the  people.  City 
planning  deals  with  the  city  as  a  unit  and  aims 
to  secure  coordination  between  the  various  parts, 
and  to  make  each  part  contribute  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  whole.  Home  planning  deals  with 
the  family  as  a  unit  and  promotes  the  health  and 
well-being  of  the  community  by  properly  hous- 
ing each  family.  Without  city  planning  urban 
home  planning  could  never  be  a  complete 
success,  and  without  home  planning  city 
planning  would  fall  short  of  its  goal.  A 
handsome  tree-bordered  street  built  up  with 
wretched  hovels  would  be  as  anomalous  as  a 
dirty,  forlorn  and  treeless  street  fronting  a 
series  of  beautiful  villas.  City  planning  that 
provides  convenient,  well  laid  out  streets,  good 
drainage,  good  water,  light  and  access  to  pub- 
lic service  utilities,  such  as  gas,  electricity,  tele- 
phones and  trolley-cars,  makes  the  comfortable 
home  possible.  It  stops  there,  leaving  the  rest 

[41] 


MODERN    CITIES 

to  the  site  planner,  the  architect  and  the  builder. 
The  work  of  the  city  planner  is  directly  for 
the  community  as  a  whole  and  only  indirectly 
for  the  individual  lot  owners,  while  the  work  of 
the  home  planner  is  directly  for  the  individual 
lot  owners  and  only  indirectly  for  the  com- 
munity as  a  whole. 

Some  cities  in  times  past  have  acted  on  the 
principle  that  the  erection  of  houses  by  owners 
of  city  lots  was  not  at  all  a  community  matter; 
that  so  long  as  the  builder  kept  within  the  limits 
of  his  own  property,  he  might  build  to  suit  him- 
self. This  principle  of  non-interference  is  re- 
sponsible for  much  bad  housing  in  America. 
The  rest  is  due  to  ignorance,  poverty  and  greed. 
In  Europe  the  need  of  restricting  the  individual 
for  the  good  of  the  community  was  recognized 
earlier  than  in  America,  but  fortunately  Ameri- 
cans have  had  a  great  advantage  in  possessing 
plenty  of  land  and  a  fair  degree  of  wealth.  On 
the  whole,  therefore,  we  are  not  worse  off  in 
our  homes  than  our  European  neighbors. 

In  the  modern  survivors  of  ancient  and  me- 
dieval cities,  the  influence  of  war  on  the  housing 
of  the  people  is  still  clearly  evident.  The  dan- 
ger of  attack  from  without  made  necessary  a 
protective  wall,  the  building  of  which  entailed 
a  great  burden  upon  the  town.  The  city  wall 
had  to  be  made  as  short  as  possible.  To  accom- 
modate the  people  inside  the  wall  streets  had 

[42] 


VICO  TACCOXI  IN   GENOA 

This  street  runs  through  one  of  the  older  parts  of  Genoa  and 
illustrates  housing  conditions  at  their  worst 


HOME    PLANNING 

to  be  narrow  and  buildings  comparatively  high. 
Open  spaces  for  yards,  public  squares  and  parks 
were  greatly  restricted.  Room  could  not  be 
spared  inside  the  walls  for  anything  that  was 
not  deemed  absolutely  necessary.  The  old  parts 
of  the  city  of  Genoa  furnish  a  good  illustration 
of  such  compact  building  in  medieval  days. 
Here  was  a  double  reason  for  crowding  build- 
ings together.  The  hills  in  Genoa  rose  abruptly 
from  the  sea,  so  that  great  difficulty  was  ex- 
perienced in  preparing  level  sites.  High  re- 
taining walls  had  to  be  built  and  extensive 
excavations  made,  in  order  to  lay  out  streets 
and  build  thereon.  A  great  city  wall  also  had 
to  be  constructed.  The  Genoese,  on  account  of 
these  conditions,  produced  a  town  that  has 
rarely  been  equaled  for  compactness.  Houses 
five  or  six  stories  in  height  were  built  solidly 
along  streets  from  eight  to  twenty-five  feet 
wide.  Columbus  spent  his  boyhood  in  a  five- 
story  house,  ten  feet  wide,  built  on  a  street  only 
nineteen  feet  in  width.  No  reliable  statistics 
are  obtainable  to  show  the  actual  density  of 
Genoa  in  the  time  of  Columbus,  but  judging 
from  present  indications  it  must  have  exceeded 
that  of  any  modern  city.  Genoa  is  now  labor- 
ing strenuously  to  overcome  the  handicap  of 
medieval  conditions  and  to  transform  itself  into 
a  high  class  twentieth  century  city. 

The  old  parts  of  Naples  furnish  another  typi- 

[43] 


MODERN    CITIES 

cal  example  of  compact  building.  Here  ex- 
treme poverty  made  conditions  worse  than  in 
Genoa.  The  one-room  dwellings  of  Naples, 
owing  to  their  openness  to  inspection  by  trav- 
elers, have  become  notorious  throughout  the 
world.  Here,  in  a  single  room  with  a  door  open- 
ing directly  on  the  street,  may  be  seen  all  of  the 
paraphernalia  necessary  for  the  housekeeping 
of  a  family,  including  the  kitchen  ware,  tables, 
beds,  bureaus,  etc.  Here  people  are  born,  eat, 
sleep  and  die  in  one  room.  During  the  past 
fifteen  years  conditions  with  respect  to  housing 
in  Naples  have  greatly  improved,  but  one- 
room  dwellings  are  still  numerous. 

The  contrast  with  respect  to  housing  condi- 
tions between  old  and  new  sections  in  such  cities 
as  Leipzig,  Vienna,  Florence  and  Rome,  is  very 
marked.  In  Leipzig  and  Vienna  magnificent 
ringstrassen  have  been  constructed  by  tearing 
down  the  old  walls  and  filling  up  the  moats. 
Inside  the  ringstrasse  is  the  old  compact  town 
with  its  narrow  streets  and  high,  solidly  built 
houses.  Outside  the  ringstrasse  is  the  new  town 
with  broader  streets  and  more  open  spaces. 
The  habit  of  building  houses  in  block  is  per- 
sistent with  Europeans  in  general,  although  in 
wealthy  sections  villa  houses  are  gradually  being 
introduced.  In  crowded  sections  of  the  old 
cities,  streets  are  necessarily  treeless  and  bar- 
ren, but  in  new  sections  planting  is  indulged 

[44] 


HOME    PLANNING 

in  to  a  considerable  extent.  One  notable  ex- 
ample is  seen  in  new  parts  of  Naples,  which 
with  flourishing  foliage  form  a  delightful  con- 
trast to  old  sections  near  the  bay. 

Although  many  of  the  large  European  cities 
have  the  disadvantage  of  being  built  upon  a 
medieval  base,  their  housing  conditions  are  not 
in  the  main  worse  than  those  of  the  large  cities 
of  America.  The  closely  built  new  sections 
of  European  cities  are  probably  better  con- 
structed than  similar  sections  of  most  American 
cities,  but  the  beautiful,  detached  single-family 
house,  set  back  from  the  street  and  surrounded 
by  a  spacious  lawn,  a  type  common  to  the  best 
residence  streets  of  American  cities,  is  almost 
entirely  lacking  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 
Occasionally  a  street  lined  with  handsome  villas, 
each  with  its  walled  yard,  is  found  in  European 
cities,  but  the  large  many-family  house  is  the 
prevailing  type. 

In  an  interesting  chapter  of  his  "Municipal 
Government  in  Europe,"  Albert  Shaw  describes 
housing  conditions  in  Berlin  in  1885.  In  that 
year  the  statistical  bureau  of  the  city  made  a 
study  of  housing  conditions  in  their  relation 
to  health  and  laid  the  foundation  for  the  housing 
reforms  that  followed.  It  was  found  that  out 
of  a  total  population  of  1,315,000,  73,000  were 
living  in  one-room  dwellings,  382,000  in  two- 
room  dwellings,  432,000  in  three-room  dwell- 

[45] 


MODERN    CITIES 

ings,  and  398,000  in  four-room  dwellings.  The 
startling  facts  revealed  by  this  investigation  re- 
lated to  the  death-rate.  It  was  found  that  the 
death-rate  among  the  one-room  dwellers  was 
about  seven  and  one-third  times  as  great  as 
among  the  two-room  dwellers,  twenty-three 
times  as  great  as  among  the  three-room  dwellers 
and  thirty  times  as  great  as  among  the  more 
than  four-room  dwellers.  Although  number- 
ing only  about  one-eighteenth  of  the  entire 
population  of  the  city,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
one-room  tenements  suffered  nearly  one-half 
the  total  number  of  deaths.  Their  death-rate 
for  the  year  was  163.5  per  thousand,  while  that 
of  the  two-room  dwellers  was  22.5,  that  of  the 
three-room  dwellers  7.5,  and  that  of  the  fam- 
ilies who  were  fortunate  to  occupy  four  rooms 
or  more  was  only  5.4.  The  facts  brought  out 
were  so  convincing  that  the  municipality  was 
compelled  to  take  action  to  secure  better  housing 
conditions. 

A  somewhat  similar  study  of  housing  condi- 
tions and  mortality  was  made  in  1871  in  Buda- 
pest by  the  city  statistician,  Mr.  Korosi.  At 
that  time  the  general  death-rate  of  the  city  was 
about  45  per  thousand.  Mr.  Korosi  found  that 
a  large  part  of  the  people  of  the  city  was  living 
in  crowded  quarters  and  that  many  cellars  were 
used  as  dwellings.  The  facts  brought  out  gave 

[46] 


HOME    PLANNING 

rise  to  housing  reform  measures  by  which  con- 
ditions were  gradually  improved. 

The  prevailing  type  of  tenement  in  Budapest 
is  a  one-story  structure,  partitioned  off  into 
dwellings  of  one  room  each.  In  1891,  61.7 
per  cent  of  all  the  dwellings  were  of  this  one- 
room  type,  while  20.8  per  cent  were  dwellings 
of  two  rooms.  In  spite  of  this  overcrowding, 
the  introduction  of  better  sanitary  measures 
and  the  abolition  of  cellar  dwellings  has  resulted 
in  a  marked  lowering  of  the  death-rate.  In 
1876,  the  rate  of  mortality  per  thousand  was 
41;  in  1885,  29.4;  in  1892,  27.9;  in  1895,  24.4; 
in  1901-1905,  19.8;  in  1909,  19.21. 

One  of  the  most  successful  attempts  to  im- 
prove housing  conditions  has  been  made  in  the 
city  of  Rome.  When  the  capital  of  Italy  was 
moved  from  Turin  to  Rome,  in  1870,  a  rapid 
increase  in  population  in  the  imperial  city  fol- 
lowed. Although  extensive  building  operations 
were  carried  on,  the  new  houses  did  not  keep 
pace  with  the  incoming  population,  and  as  a 
consequence  much  crowding  took  place.  Fam- 
ilies were  compelled  to  live  in  single  rooms 
and  to  occupy  unsafe  and  insanitary  buildings. 
Conditions  became  so  bad  that  the  city  adminis- 
tration was  aroused  and  an  effort  was  made  to 
secure  better  homes  for  the  poor.  The  munici- 
pal council  passed  an  ordinance  remitting  the 

[47] 


MODERN    CITIES 

taxes  of  new  tenements  for  two  years.  It  also 
provided  for  the  formation  of  a  corporation  to 
undertake  the  building  of  model  tenements  as 
a  philanthropic  enterprise.  The  directors  of 
this  municipal  tenement  building  corporation 
are  appointed  by  the  municipal  council  and 
serve  without  salary.  The  funds  to  be  used  in 
building  the  tenements  are  loaned  to  the  cor- 
poration by  the  city,  under  an  arrangement 
whereby  the  money  is  to  be  returned  to  the  city 
in  fifty  years.  The  directors  provide  for  the 
building,  maintenance  and  renting  of  the  tene- 
ments. From  the  income  received  they  pay  the 
city  3  per  cent  interest  on  the  amount  loaned 
and  make  small  annual  payments  on  the  prin- 
cipal. 

Senator  Franchetti,  one  of  the  leading  states- 
men of  Italy,  is  president  of  the  municipal  com- 
pany and  is  unselfishly  devoting  much  of  his 
time  to  promoting  its  interests.  The  company 
has  already  built  several  groups  of  tenements 
and  the  scheme  is  proving  successful  both  from 
a  social  and  financial  standpoint. 

The  genius  of  Rome's  new  tenements,  how- 
ever, is  Engineer  Edoardo  Talamo,  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Institute  of  Good  Homes,  a 
building  corporation  that  has  recently  con- 
structed a  large  number  of  tenements.  Talamo 
is  a  man  of  unusual  ability  and  has  made  a 
thorough  study  of  housing  conditions.  His 

[48] 


GROUND  FLAX  FOR  A  GROUP  OF  LOW-RENTAL  TENEMENTS 
IN  ROME,  AS  DESIGNED  BY  EDWARD  TALAMO 


HOME    PLANNING 

genius  bids  fair  to  revolutionize  housing  con- 
ditions in  his  city. 

The  houses  built  by  Talamo's  company  are 
as  a  rule  five-story  tenements,  so  arranged  in 
groups  as  to  enclose  a  common  yard.  The  tene- 
ments are  built  in  three  grades,  the  lowest 
grade  for  the  families  of  the  ordinary  unskilled 
workmen,  the  second  grade  for  the  families  of 
skilled  workmen  and  the  highest  grade  for  peo- 
ple with  good  incomes.  The  plan  followed  in 
each  case  is  the  same.  All  the  tenements  con- 
form to  the  most  approved  sanitary  require- 
ments. The  location  of  the  lowest  class  tene- 
ments, however,  is  not  the  best,  and  the  num- 
ber of  rooms  to  a  dwelling  is  limited  to  three  or 
four.  In  the  better  class  tenements,  dwellings 
of  five  or  six  rooms  are  the  rule.  The  build- 
ings are  constructed  of  brick  and  the  floors  of 
tile.  The  rooms  are  well  lighted  by  windows 
opening  on  the  street  or  a  large  yard,  and  each 
dwelling  is  provided  with  a  sanitary  water- 
closet.  A  caretaker,  who  is  continually  on  duty, 
is  provided  for  each  group  of  tenements.  In 
the  larger  groups  the  principal  caretaker  is  pro- 
vided with  one  or  more  assistants. 

Talamo's  aim  has  been  to  foster  a  community 
life  in  each  group  so  that  a  genuine  home  spirit 
might  prevail.  To  this  end  he  has  set  apart 
several  rooms  for  the  common  use  of  the  tenants. 
One  of  these  rooms  is  fitted  up  as  a  library  and 

[49] 


MODERN    CITIES 

reading  room  and  furnished  with  books  and 
magazines.  It  is  maintained  at  the  expense  of 
the  company  and  the  tenants  are  free  to  use  it 
at  will.  Another  room  is  fitted  up  as  a  sewing 
room.  In  this  room  the  company  provides 
sewing  machines  which  are  run  by  electricity. 
The  house-wives  bring  in  their  sewing  and  are 
able  to  visit  with  their  neighbors  while  pro- 
viding clothes  for  the  family.  A  trifling  fee 
is  charged  for  the  use  of  the  machines.  Another 
room  serves  as  a  store-house  for  bicycles  and 
baby-carriages.  There  is  also  a  bathing  estab- 
lishment provided  with  an  apartment  for  men 
and  another  for  women.  Cold  baths  are  free 
to  tenants  and  warm  baths  are  furnished  for 
a  small  fee. 

In  order  to  safeguard  the  lives  of  the  tenants 
a  room  is  fitted  up  on  the  main  floor  as  a  phy- 
sician's office  and  dispensary,  and  a  graduate 
physician  is  placed  in  charge.  The  medicines  in 
the  dispensary  and  the  advice  of  the  physician 
are  free  to  tenants.  However,  if  the  physician 
is  required  to  call  on  a  patient  in  one  of  the 
dwellings,  a  fee  of  twenty  cents  a  call  is  charged. 
A  small  hospital  where  patients  suffering  from 
contagious  diseases  may  be  isolated  is  also  pro- 
vided. The  presence  of  a  physician  who  can 
give  immediate  attention  to  the  ills  of  the 
tenants  and  who  can  promptly  check  any  out- 
break of  a  contagious  disease  has  a  remarkable 

[50] 


HOME   PLANNING 

influence  on  the  health  of  the  community.  In 
one  tenement-group  containing  600  people  there 
were  but  four  deaths  during  a  year,  a  rate  of 
less  than  seven  per  thousand.  While  the  figures 
for  other  groups  were  not  available,  it  is  prob- 
able that  an  equal  degree  of  healthfulness  ob- 
tains. 

The  most  noteworthy  feature  of  these  tene- 
ments, however,  is  the  school  for  children  be- 
tween the  ages  of  three  and  seven  years,  which 
is  maintained  either  in  a  room  on  the  principal 
floor  of  one  of  the  tenements  or  in  a  small 
house  in  the  court-yard.  The  schools  are  of 
the  Montessori  type  and  have  attracted  wide 
attention.  A  full  description  of  these  schools 
is  given  in  the  chapter  on  "Recent  Develop- 
ments in  Education." 

Although  a  caretaker  is  always  on  duty  to 
see  that  everything  in  connection  with  the  tene- 
ments is  in  good  order,  Talamo  takes  special 
pains  to  enlist  the  interest  of  the  tenants  in  the 
up-keep  of  the  property.  To  this  end  he  is 
offering  a  series  of  prizes  for  the  best  kept 
dwellings  in  the  group.  These  prizes  stimulate 
tenants  to  maintain  a  high  standard  of  neat- 
ness and  to  safeguard  the  property  of  the  com- 
pany, and  at  the  same  time  have  the  effect  of 
greatly  reducing  the  bill  of  expense  for  repairs. 

1  See  Chapter  XIII,  p.  250. 
[51] 


MODERN    CITIES 

The  np-keep  of  the  tenements  under  Talamo's 
charge  is  only  a  small  item  compared  with  that 
of  the  ordinary  tenements. 

The  municipal  company  is  following  Tala- 
mo's example.  It  has  adopted  his  methods  of 
management,  and  although  it  has  not  succeeded 
in  securing  a  manager  with  Talamo's  genius, 
its  tenements  are  in  much  better  condition  than 
those  ordinarily  found  in  the  city. 

Not  many  cities  in  America  have  made  care- 
ful investigations  of  housing  conditions,  but 
those  which  have  conducted  such  investigations 
have  found  many  things  to  be  corrected.  One 
of  the  most  noteworthy  attempts  has  been  the 
establishment  of  the  tenement-house  depart- 
ment of  New  York  City.  Before  1900  the 
standards  of  tenement-house  construction  in 
New  York  were  very  low  and  the  city  exercised 
but  little  supervision  over  the  erection  of  build- 
ings. As  a  consequence,  there  were  built  in 
many  parts  of  the  city  whole  blocks  of  tenements 
which,  although  having  a  respectable  or  even 
attractive  outside  appearance,  were  lacking  in 
many  of  the  essentials  of  good  homes.  Halls 
were  narrow  and  dark,  bed-rooms  were  with- 
out windows  or  air-shafts,  toilet  facilities  were 
inadequate,  fire-escapes  were  lacking  and  no 
provisions  for  ventilation  were  made.  In  some 
cases  the  only  toilet  facilities  were  school  sinks 
in  the  rear  of  the  tenements,  which  when  the 

[52] 


HOME    PLANNING 

building  was  fully  occupied  were  usually  in  a 
filthy  condition.  The  new  tenement-house  law, 
enacted  in  1901,  raised  the  standards  of  construc- 
tion, restricted  the  height  of  buildings  and  the 
amount  of  space  on  a  lot  that  could  be  oc- 
cupied by  a  building,  required  that  all  rooms 
should  have  windows,  that  adequate  toilet  facili- 
ties should  be  provided  and  that  proper  fire- 
escapes  be  placed  on  buildings. 

The  department  that  was  organized  to  en- 
force this  law  has  done  splendid  work.  In  1903, 
after  having  made  an  investigation  of  condi- 
tions, it  issued  a  report  which  showed  how 
serious  were  housing  evils  in  the  great  metrop- 
olis. The  inspectors  found  animals  harbored 
in  tenement  cellars,  loads  of  filth  thrown  into 
back-yards,  basements  and  cellars  and  school 
sinks  too  horrible  to  describe.  In  many  cases 
people  afflicted  with  infectious  and  contagious 
diseases  were  associating  freely  with  the  other 
inhabitants  of  the  tenement.  The  publishing  of 
this  report  opened  the  eyes  of  the  people  of 
New  York  and  created  sufficient  public  senti- 
ment to  enforce  the  new  law  properly.  The 
tenements  built  since  the  new  law  went  into 
effect  maintain  a  high  standard  of  sanitation. 
While  many  of  them  are  not  free  from  crowd- 
ing, no  insanitary  conditions  exist  on  account 
of  the  structure  of  the  buildings.  The  in- 
sanitary conditions  that  now  exist  in  New  York 

[53] 


MODERN    CITIES 

are  found  in  old  tenements  that  have  not  been 
reconstructed,  or  are  due  to  the  negligence  of 
tenants  occupying  new  houses. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  influence  of  proper 
regulation  of  tenement-house  buildings,  the 
1909  report  of  the  Tenement  House  Depart- 
ment of  New  York  draws  a  comparison  be- 
tween the  three-story  tenements  that  are  under 
the  tenement-house  law  and  the  two-story 
houses  that  are  not  included  in  the  legal  defini- 
tion of  a  tenement-house.  In  the  three-story 
buildings  all  of  the  rooms  have  windows  open- 
ing on  the  street  or  yard,  the  hallways  are 
light  and  adequate  and  fire-escapes  are  pro- 
vided. In  the  two-story  houses  there  are  usu- 
ally two  sleeping-rooms  without  windows  or 
other  means  for  light  and  ventilation.  The 
hallways  are  commonly  dark  and  no  fire-escapes 
are  provided.  Although  the  two-story  flats  rent 
at  a  higher  rate  than  the  three-story  ones,  the 
latter  are  greatly  to  be  preferred  from  a  sani- 
tary and  esthetic  point  of  view.  The  one  com- 
plies writh  recognized  standards,  while  the  other 
is  constructed  to  make  dividends  for  the  land- 
lord. 

Companies  building  houses  in  the  suburbs 
have  attempted  for  several  years  to  amend 
the  tenement-house  law  so  as  to  exclude  the 
three-story  house  from  its  provisions.  It  is 

[54] 


HOME   PLANNING 

unlikely,  however,  that  such  a  backward  step 
will  be  taken. 

The  city  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  famous  the 
world  over  for  its  magnificent  avenues  and 
broad  tree-lined  streets,  has  had  a  difficult 
housing  problem  to  contend  with.  After  the 
Civil  War  many  slaves  deserted  Southern  plan- 
tations and  took  refuge  in  Washington  and 
Georgetown.  They  came  friendless  and  bare- 
handed. Collecting  bits  of  lumber  from  army 
camps,  hospitals  and  buildings  that  were  being 
torn  down,  they  built  shacks  and  shanties  in 
alleys  and  by-places,  regardless  of  health  or 
sanitary  conveniences.  Between  30,000  and 
40,000  came  and  settled  in  this  way  within 
a  period  of  about  five  years.  The  effect  of  their 
insanitary  mode  of  life  became  painfully  evi- 
dent during  the  small-pox  epidemic  of  1871-72. 
Among  the  colored  population  one  in  38  was 
afflicted,  while  among  the  whites  the  ratio  of 
cases  was  only  one  to  225.  The  death-rate 
of  1875,  which  was  21.04  among  the  whites 
and  42.86  among  the  negroes,  furnished  sad 
testimony  of  a  like  character. 

In  1872  a  board  of  health,  created  by  an  act 
of  Congress,  took  active  measures  to  improve 
housing  conditions.  Many  buildings  were  in- 
spected and  those  found  to  be  unfit  for  habita- 
tion were  condemned.  The  process  of  weeding 

[55] 


MODERN    CITIES 

out  the  poorer  houses  was  continued  with  suc- 
cess up  to  1878,  when  Congress  abolished  the 
board  of  health  and  created  the  office  of  health 
officer.  In  1880  the  right  of  condemnation  of 
insanitary  houses  was  taken  from  the  health 
department.  From  this  time  until  1892  noth- 
ing was  done  for  the  amelioration  of  housing 
conditions.  In  the  latter  year  a  law  restricting 
and  regulating  the  building  of  houses  in  alleys 
was  passed.  In  1895,  an  organization,  known 
as  the  Civic  Center,  carried  on  a  house-to-house 
investigation  of  living  conditions  in  the  alleys. 
In  all  35  alleys  and  191  dwellings  were  visited. 
Many  of  the  houses  inspected  were  without 
water  or  sewer  connections,  most  of  them  were 
surrounded  with  insanitary  conditions,  many 
were  overcrowded,  and  crime  and  immorality 
were  found  prevalent.  It  was  also  learned 
that  the  rents  paid  by  the  occupants  of  the 
alley  houses  were  much  higher  than  the  ac- 
commodations would  justify. 

The  committee  of  the  Civic  Center  who  had 
charge  of  the  investigations  recommended  that 
when  practicable  the  alleys  should  be  converted 
into  minor  streets  and  places;  that  alleys  that 
could  not  be  cut  through  and  widened  to  at  least 
30  feet  should  be  condemned  as  unfit  for  human 
habitation;  that  all  alleys  and  alley  houses 
should  be  subjected  to  a  thorough  official  in- 
vestigation; that  houses  should  be  made  to  con- 

[56] 


HOME    PLANNING 

form  to  a  reasonable  sanitary  standard,  and  that 
houses  unfit  for  human  habitation  should  be 
condemned.  As  an  outcome  of  the  investiga- 
tion and  the  general  agitation  of  the  subject, 
in  April,  1897,  a  corporation  known  as  the 
Washington  Sanitary  Improvement  Company, 
was  chartered  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of 
Virginia.  This  company  proceeded  to  build 
two-flat  houses  of  three  or  four  rooms  each. 
A  high  standard  of  construction  was  adopted. 
Each  flat  was  complete,  having  a  separate  en- 
trance and  exit,  separate  yard,  cellar  and  bath- 
room. First-class  plumbing  was  installed  and 
ample  provision  for  light  and  ventilation  was 
made.  Each  kitchen  was  provided  with  a  range 
and  a  hot-water  boiler.  The  three-room  flats 
were  rented  for  $9.50  and  $10.00  per  month 
and  the  four-room  flats  for  $12  to  $12.50  per 
month.  A  rebate  of  one  month's  rent  every 
year  was  granted  to  tenants  whose  flat  did  not 
require  any  repairs.  In  case  any  repairs  were 
required  they  were  deducted  from  the  rebate. 
Eight  houses  were  built  by  the  company  the 
first  season.  As  success  attended  the  efforts 
of  the  company  from  the  first,  additional  houses 
were  built  until  the  number  reached  200. 

Although  the  aim  of  the  promoters  of  the 
company  was  to  provide  better  homes  for  alley 
dwellers  and  those  living  under  the  worst  con- 
ditions, the  new  houses  built  by  the  company 

[57] 


MODERN    CITIES 

were  rented  by  the  better  classes  of  laborers. 
The  houses  vacated  by  these  were  occupied  by 
people  that  had  previously  lived  in  poorer  ones, 
and  so  on  down  the  scale.  The  complete  effect 
was  the  moving  into  better  quarters  of  a  much 
larger  number  of  people  than  could  be  ac- 
commodated in  the  homes  built  by  the  company. 
In  1907  the  assets  of  the  company  were  $704,- 
033.41  and  the  surplus  was  $74,233.41.  The 
company  has  paid  dividends  at  the  rate  of  5 
per  cent  per  annum  regularly  each  year  since 
its  organization. 

In  1904,  General  George  M.  Sternberg,  the 
guiding  spirit  of  the  Washington  Sanitary  Im- 
provement Company,  organized  a  new  company 
under  the  name  of  the  Washington  Sanitary 
Housing  Company.  This  new  corporation  was 
to  pay  but  4  per  cent  dividends  and  was  to  de- 
vote its  energies  to  building  dwellings  for  day- 
laborers,  laundresses  and  other  humble  wage- 
earners.  The  plans  have  been  fully  carried  out. 
This  company  has  built  and  rented  a  large  num- 
ber of  two-flat  houses,  with  two,  three  or  four 
rooms  and  bath.  The  lower  flats  with  two 
rooms  and  bath  rent  for  $6.00  per  month,  those 
with  three  rooms  and  bath  for  $7.00  per  month, 
and  those  with  four  rooms  and  bath  for  $8.00 
per  month.  Upper  flats  bring  fifty  cents  more 
in  each  instance. 

The  sanitary  condition  of  the  houses  of  the 

[58] 


HOME    PLANNING 

Washington  Sanitary  Improvement  Company 
is  indicated  by  carefully  collected  mortality 
statistics  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1906. 
The  dwellings  owned  by  this  company  were 
occupied  that  year  by  778  adults  and  380  chil- 
dren, a  total  of  1,158.  The  number  of  births 
was  thirty-nine  and  the  number  of  deaths  only 
eight.  The  death-rate  was  therefore  only  seven 
per  thousand,  while  that  of  the  white  population 
of  the  whole  city  for  the  same  year  was  15.16. 

The  work  of  these  two  companies  has  had 
a  most  salutary  effect  on  housing  conditions 
in  the  capital  city.  Other  agencies  have  also 
been  active  in  securing  housing  legislation  and 
in  clearing  out  some  of  the  most  congested 
alleys  and  plague  spots. 

Comparatively  few  municipalities  have  done 
constructive  work  in  solving  the  housing  prob- 
lem. Most  of  them  have  established  a  building 
code  and  stopped  there.  Some  of  the  cities 
of  Europe,  however,  have  gone  farther.  Glas- 
gow, about  forty-five  years  ago,  undertook  a 
housing  reform  in  the  most  strenuous  manner. 
A  densely  populated  slum  section  in  the  central 
part  of  the  city  was  purchased,  the  old  build- 
ings were  demolished  and  a  new  system  of 
streets  was  laid  out.  Part  of  the  sites  along 
the  new  streets  were  sold  and  on  others  the  city 
built  new  tenements  with  stores  on  the  ground 
floor.  The  enterprise,  although  it  has  resulted 

[59] 


MODERN    CITIES 

in  great  good  to  the  city,  has  not  been  a  com- 
plete financial  success. 

The  London  County  Council  has  expended 
large  sums  in  building  city  tenements,  but  since 
1900  it  has  taken  up  the  work  of  building  sub- 
urban homes.  Large  estates  in  the  suburbs  of 
the  city  have  been  purchased  and  modest  de- 
tached cottages  have  been  erected  thereon.  Up 
to  March,  1909,  1,335  of  these  cottages  had  been 
built  and  the  enterprise  is  meeting  with  gen- 
eral approval. 

Ulm,  in  Germany,  has  probably  gone  farther 
in  the  matter  of  constructing  municipal  tene- 
ments than  any  other  city  on  the  continent  of 
Europe.  It  has  purchased  large  tracts  of  sub- 
urban land  and  after  improving  them  has  re- 
sold a  portion  of  the  sites  and  has  erected  cot- 
tages and  cottage-flats  on  other  parts.  From 
1891  to  1909  this  city  purchased  over  1,200 
acres  of  land  for  $1,390,000  and  resold  404 
acres  under  full  restrictions  for  $1,633,000.  In 
this  way  a  portion  of  the  unearned  increment 
has  come  into  the  treasury  of  the  city  where 
it  rightfully  belongs,  and  the  people  have  been 
able  to  procure  building  sites  at  reasonable 
prices.  Ulm  erects  cottages  to  sell  to  workmen 
on  easy  terms,  or  the  workmen  may  rent  them 
if  they  prefer.  It  is  generally  conceded  that 
the  real  estate  ventures  of  Ulm  have  proved 

[60] 


HOME    PLANNING 

beneficial  to  the  city  as  a  whole  and  especially 
to  the  working  people. 

Many  other  German  cities  are  purchasing 
suburban  land  and  some  are  building  cottages 
and  tenements,  but  as  a  rule  these  cities  are 
proceeding  cautiously  in  the  matter.  It  is  quite 
common  in  Germany  and  Switzerland  for  homes 
to  be  supplied  for  city  and  state  employees,  but 
the  cities  on  the  continent  have  not  gone  so 
far  as  the  English  in  building  operations. 

In  New  Zealand,  the  department  of  labor 
was  authorized  by  acts  of  1905  and  1908  to 
erect  homes  for  working  men.  Up  to  the  sum- 
mer of  1909,  the  department  had  built  twenty- 
five  detached  cottages,  which  are  rented  to 
working  men  at  a  moderate  rate.  These  cot- 
tages, usually  of  five  rooms,  are  built  of  wood 
and  each  is  provided  with  a  lawn  and  garden. 

From  the  foregoing  description  of  efforts  that 
have  been  made  in  various  places  to  procure 
better  housing  conditions,  it  becomes  evident 
that  the  present  housing  problem  is  largely 
one  of  securing  good  homes  for  the  people,  who 
through  poverty,  ignorance  or  misfortune  are 
not  able  to  secure  good  dwellings  for  them- 
selves. An  inquiry  into  conditions  in  almost 
any  city  will  show  that  private  landlords  for 
the  most  part  do  not  take  a  deep  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  their  tenants.  Their  principal  con- 

[61] 


MODERN    CITIES 

cern  is  to  secure  as  large  a  return  on  their  in- 
vestments as  possible.  Their  buildings  are 
erected  and  managed  with  that  end  in  view. 
They  do  not  hesitate  to  make  a  tenement  cover 
the  entire  building  lot,  or  to  put  in  dark  rooms 
in  case  they  are  not  restricted  by  law.  As  a 
rule  they  oppose  tenement-house  laws  on  the 
ground  that  they  make  building  operations  too 
expensive.  In  New  York  City,  where  the 
tenement-house  problem  was  at  one  time  most 
serious,  the  utmost  efforts  of  the  tenement- 
house  department  were  required  to  secure 
obedience  to  the  law  on  the  part  of  landlords 
and  building  companies.  All  other  cities  that 
attempt  to  do  any  real  work  in  regulating 
tenements  have  similar  experiences.  The  prin- 
ciple, however,  is  now  well  established  that  the 
State  is  justified  in  regulating  the  construc- 
tion of  buildings  in  a  city  or  village,  and  each 
year  finds  additional  laws  on  the  statute  books 
designed  to  limit  the  greed  of  landlords  and 
insure  the  health  and  safety  of  tenants. 

Considerable  discussion  has  arisen  among 
those  who  have  given  attention  to  the  housing 
problem  concerning  the  type  of  house  best 
suited  for  the  homes  of  working  people  of  mod- 
erate means.  Three  distinct  types  are  advo- 
cated. First,  the  detached  cottage  with  lawn 
and  garden.  Those  who  advocate  this  type 
claim  that  the  detached  cottage  makes  the  best 

[62] 


o 


O 


HOME    PLANNING 

home;  that  it  meets  the  requirements  for  light 
and  air  better  than  any  other  form  of  dwelling; 
that  the  ground  attached  will  cause  the  tenant 
to  take  a  pride  in  his  home  and  to  become  more 
thrifty;  and  that  he  will  have  a  greater  desire 
to  become  the  owner  of  the  place.  Those  who 
oppose  this  type  of  house  state  that  the  land 
necessary  for  a  lawn  and  garden  costs  too  much 
except  in  small  cities  where  land  is  cheap,  or  at 
a  remote  place  in  the  suburbs  from  which  the 
expense  of  transportation  for  the  family  of  the 
workman  would  be  prohibitive.  They  further 
state  that  the  workman  as  a  rule  comes  home 
tired  and  has  no  time  or  inclination  to  work  a 
garden  or  care  for  a  lawn,  and  that  the  yard 
is  more  likely  to  become  a  storehouse  for  rub- 
bish than  a  place  of  beauty  and  recreation. 

Second,  the  two-story  block  house.  This  is 
the  type  prevalent  in  Philadelphia  and  Balti- 
more, where  row  after  row  of  two-story  one- 
family  houses  line  almost  interminable  streets. 
These  houses  usually  have  six  rooms,  besides 
cellar,  attic  and  bath-room.  They  have  a  front- 
age of  fourteen  to  eighteen  feet  and  vary  from 
twenty  to  thirty  feet  in  depth.  The  street  and 
side-walks  in  front  of  the  houses  are  of  good 
width  but  they  are  usually  devoid  of  grass 
or  trees.  In  the  rear  of  the  houses  is  a  space 
covered  with  clothes-lines  and  hemmed  in  with 
a  high  fence  in  which  there  is  a  door  leading 

[63] 


MODERN    CITIES 

into  a  narrow  alley.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
alley  is  another  door  leading  into  another  space 
which  serves  as  a  back-yard  for  the  same  kind 
of  a  house  on  the  next  street.  Those  who  advo- 
cate this  type  of  home  for  people  of  moderate 
means  state  that  it  satisfies  every  requirement 
from  the  sanitary  point  of  view.  Every  room 
in  such  a  house  is  light  and  can  easily  be  sup- 
plied with  fresh  air.  Each  family  lives  by 
itself  and  consequently  is  not  troubled  by,  nor 
permitted  to  trouble,  its  neighbors.  A  house 
of  this  kind  is  much  warmer  and  much  more 
easily  cared  for  than  a  detached  house,  and  has 
all  of  the  advantages  of  the  latter  with  the 
exception  of  the  surrounding  grounds. 

While  admitting  the  many  good  points  of  this 
style  of  house,  those  who  object  to  it  say  that 
it  is  entirely  lacking  from  the  esthetic  point 
of  view  and  it  makes  no  provision  for  the  out- 
door life  of  the  children.  No  one  who  has  seen 
the  rows  of  these  houses  as  they  are  usually 
built  will  gainsay  the  first  objection  and  the  sec- 
ond is  self-evident.  The  children,  however,  may 
be  provided  for  by  public  parks  and  play- 
grounds in  close  proximity  to  the  dwellings. 
It  is  probable  that,  all  things  considered,  this 
type  of  house  offers  more  comfort  for  the 
amount  that  the  average  workman  cares  to  pay 
in  rent  than  the  ordinary  flat  or  the  detached 
cottage. 

[64] 


HOME    PLANNING 

The  third  type  of  home  for  working  people 
is  seen  at  its  best  in  the  model  group  tenements 
that  Edward  Talamo  is  building  in  Rome.  As 
these  homes  have  already  been  described  in  this 
chapter  it  is  only  necessary  to  compare  them 
with  the  other  types.  With  respect  to  sanita- 
tion the  group  tenements  are  equal  if  not 
superior  to  the  others.  They  have  everything 
that  could  be  desired  in  the  way  of  light  and 
ventilation,  and  the  caretaker  is  especially 
charged  to  maintain  the  cleanliness  of  the  yards 
and  hallways.  The  large  attractive  common 
yard  affords  open-air  life  for  the  children,  and 
the  presence  of  the  teacher  insures  their  safety 
and  happiness.  The  presence  of  the  physician 
safeguards  the  health  of  the  community.  The 
great  point  of  superiority  of  the  group  tene- 
ments over  the  other  types  of  homes  described 
is  that  they  afford  a  social  life  as  well  as  an 
individual  and  family  life.  With  proper  man- 
agement these  group  tenements  offer  to  work- 
men and  their  families  advantages  that  under 
ordinary  circumstances  can  be  enjoyed  only 
by  the  wealthy. 

The  group  idea  has  also  been  worked  out 
in  a  different  way  and  with  great  success  in 
some  of  the  garden  cities  of  England,  and  in 
the  homes  built  by  a  few  factory  owners 
and  philanthropic  companies  in  America  and 
Germany. 

[65] 


CHAPTER   IV 

CITY   STREETS   AND   SOME    SPLENDID    TYPES 

THERE  is  nothing  of  greater  importance  to  a 
municipality  than  good  streets.  From  the  utili- 
tarian view-point  the  street  is  necessary  so  that 
people  may  move  with  facility  from  one  point 
to  another.  It  is  indispensable  for  traffic,  that 
all  the  necessities  of  the  citizens  may  be  met 
with  ease  and  expeditiousness.  To  this  end 
the  street  in  the  modern  city  is  adapted  to  the 
use  of  the  pedestrian  and  to  the  bicycle,  the 
automobile,  the  carriage,  the  street-car,  the 
truck,  and  various  other  means  of  locomotion. 

The  machinery  of  modern  civilization  has 
compelled  us  to  use  the  street,  for  better  or  for 
worse,  for  a  large  number  of  things  in  addition 
to  transportation.  As  a  part  of  it,  indeed,  but 
not  essential  to  it,  we  have  poles  which  support 
wires  for  the  trolley;  electric  light,  gas  lamps 
and  oil  lamps  supported  by  posts  or  held  by 
brackets  to  the  side  of  buildings;  cans  for  waste 
paper;  post-office  boxes  for  letters  and  parcels; 
fire-alarm  boxes;  projecting  signs  advertising 
all  manner  of  shops  and  stores;  bill-boards  on 

[66] 


CITY   STREETS 

which,  too  often  alas!  are  manifested  glaring 
advertisements  of  theaters,  variety  shows,  divers 
beers  and  liquors,  dry  goods,  and  all  the  things 
which  are  for  sale  for  man's  comfort  and  en- 
tertainment. Then  as  if  poles  for  electric  wires 
were  not  sufficient,  there  are  other  poles  for 
telegraph  and  telephone  wires,  and  those  bear- 
ing electric  cables,  so  that  ofttimes  the  modern 
street  presents  the  confused  appearance  of  the 
horizontal  cross-bars  of  a  huge  gymnasium  or 
the  bewildering  spectacle  of  a  juggler's  show. 
The  value  and  importance  of  the  street  were 
not  recognized  by  ancient  municipalities.  If  one 
studies  the  unearthed  city  of  Pompeii  he  is  im- 
pressed with  the  narrowness,  awkwardness,  and 
inadequacy  of  the  streets.  A  street  in  that  city 
was  nothing  but  a  narrow,  tortuous  slit  between 
rows  of  houses.  The  modern  survival  of  this 
ancient  and  uncouth  passage-way  is  found  to- 
day in  the  slums  of  our  own  cities  and  in  the 
lower  quarters  of  cities  like  Naples  and  Genoa. 
It  may  send  a  thrill  of  joy  through  one's  soul 
to  stand  in  front  of  the  house  in  which  Christo- 
pher Columbus  once  lived  in  the  Vico  Dritto 
Ponticello  in  Genoa ;  but  what  an  alley  it  is !  It 
seems  to  shut  out  all  that  is  ideal.  There  is 
nothing  here  but  squalor  and  an  utter  lack  of 
every  idealistic  and  mystical  touch.  One  won- 
ders, indeed,  how  in  the  soul  of  this  great  man 
such  splendid  visions  could  have  been  created 

[67] 


MODERN    CITIES 

in  such  a  dingy  environment.  Or  again  as  one 
stands  in  front  of  the  house  where  Dante  was 
born  in  Florence — this  wonderful  poetic  genius 
that  incorporated  in  his  masterful  "Comedy" 
ten  centuries  of  Christian  thought  and  civiliza- 
tion— and  looks  around  at  the  dingy  and  squalid 
street  there  is  a  sinking  within  the  soul;  for 
this  Via  Dante  is  just  as  squalid  as  the  street 
in  which  Columbus  lived. 

But  to  modern  civilization  a  street  of  a  very 
different  order  is  absolutely  necessary.  The 
imperative  demand  at  present  is  for  a  broad, 
well-lighted  street  that  will  accommodate  all 
without  crowding  and  without  confusion.  It 
is  essential  that  in  width,  structure  and  decora- 
tion the  street  be  carefully  adapted  to  the  pur- 
poses it  serves. 

Streets  everywhere  should  be  broad,  whether 
in  village  or  cities.  Sunshine  and  air  are  essen- 
tial to  human  life.  The  wide  street  enables  the 
citizen,  especially  in  the  larger  cities,  to  avail 
himself  of  these  great  boons  which  it  is  his 
inalienable  right  to  enjoy.  It  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  construct  in  addition  to  a  pave- 
ment wide  enough  for  traffic,  an  ample  side- 
walk with  a  good  curb.  Where  the  street  is 
narrow  as  in  many  cities  of  Europe,  the  curb 
is  dispensed  with,  allowing  the  citizen  to  use 
the  entire  street  for  walking. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  street  is 
[68] 


GARIBALDI  STREET  IX  GENOA 

Altho  narrow,  this  street  has  been  well  adapted  for  traffic  purposes, 
by  the  elimination  of  sidewalks,  curbs,  poles,  and  wires 


CITY    STREETS 

made  for  man  and  not  man  for  the  street. 
Our  modern  sanitary  knowledge  demands  that 
streets  be  kept  clean.  The  germs  on  our  city 
streets  endanger  the  lives  of  inhabitants.  The 
utmost  care  then  must  be  taken  in  cleaning 
streets,  in  flushing  them  with  water  and  in 
using  all  possible  means  to  prevent  the  ac- 
cumulation of  dust  and  the  mingling  of  this 
dust  with  the  air  which  the  citizens  are  com- 
pelled to  breathe. 

The  question  of  pavements  is  one  of  the  most 
important.  A  pavement  should  be  selected  that 
will  be  smooth,  noiseless  and  durable  and  that 
can  be  easily  cleaned  and  repaired.  The  best 
pavements  are  macadam,  asphalt,  smooth  stone 
block,  brick  and  wooden  block.  In  most  cities 
of  Italy,  Switzerland,  Germany,  Belgium  and 
France,  a  good  deal  of  Belgian  block  is  used. 
But  this  is  very  noisy  and  difficult  to  keep 
clean.  In  Naples  and  Genoa  much  use  is  made 
of  stone  blocks  24x18x7  inches  in  size.  This 
seems  to  give  excellent  satisfaction.  It  is  not  so 
noisy  as  the  Belgian  block  and  it  is  easy  to  keep 
clean.  It  bears  the  brunt  of  heavy  traffic  un- 
usually well.  But  the  best  pavement  when  well 
laid  is  the  wooden  block.  Much  of  this  is  used 
in  Paris,  and  some  in  Rome.  In  the  latter  city 
may  be  seen  the  finest  piece  of  wooden  block 
pavement  in  Europe.  It  is  near  the  Pantheon 
and  constructed  of  hard  wood  brought  from 

[69] 


MODERN    CITIES 

Argentina,  but  it  cost  the  forbidden  price  of 
one  dollar  per  square  foot.  For  such  a  pave- 
ment it  is  of  course  necessary,  as  in  the  case 
of  asphalt,  to  have  a  solid  foundation  under  the 
block.  There  should  be  a  concrete  base  and  the 
block  should  be  laid  in  tar,  so  as  to  keep  out 
water.  The  advantages  of  wooden  block,  espe- 
cially in  large  cities,  are  that  it  can  be  very 
easily  cleaned,  is  yielding,  easier  for  travel  for 
both  horse  and  man,  noiseless  and  durable. 

The  width  of  a  street  should  have  a  close 
relation  to  the  height  of  buildings  erected 
thereon.  In  mentioning  this  point  there  in- 
stantly comes  to  mind  the  sky-scraper,  one  of 
our  unique  American  products,  and  one  won- 
ders how  wide  a  street  would  have  to  be  to 
prevent  obstruction  from  it.  There  have  been 
many  attempts  to  control  the  matter  by  regula- 
ting the  sky  line  of  buildings.  Rome  has  an 
ordinance  to  the  effect  that  no  building  shall 
be  higher  than  one  and  one-half  times  the 
width  of  the  street  upon  which  it  fronts.  The 
maximum  shall  not  be  over  24  meters  (781/2 
feet)  nor  the  minimum  under  14  meters  (45% 
feet).  Style,  material,  and  other  features  are 
under  official  surveillance.  Paris  fixes  the  maxi- 
mum of  facades  at  20  meters  (65%  feet).  It 
also  determines  the  number  of  stories  and  com- 
pels private  builders  to  observe  the  letter  of 

[70] 


CITY    STREETS 

the  law  respecting  the  raccordement  et  Vhar- 
monie  des  lignes  de  construction. 

Berlin  has  far  superior  regulations.  It  di- 
vides the  city  very  properly  into  sections.  For 
business  divisions  there  are  different  regula- 
tions than  for  residential  divisions.  Thus  in 
a  residental  district  it  would  be  a  crime  to  erect 
a  factory  or  office  building.  In  this  way  sec- 
tions which  have  become  valuable  for  residences 
and  in  a  cumulative  fashion  have  become  more 
and  more  artistic  as  the  years  go  by,  are  pre- 
served for  the  city;  otherwise,  as  frequently 
happens  in  our  American  cities,  the  residential 
district  would  be  changed  in  each  generation 
by  the  obtruding  of  business  houses,  factories, 
and  apartment  houses. 

In  European  cities  where  we  have  examined 
sky  and  front  line,  as  for  example,  in  Paris, 
there  is  a  tendency  toward  monotony.  It  is 
necessary  then  to  be  careful,  especially  in  busi- 
ness sections,  to  see  that  the  front  and  sky  line 
obey  a  reasonable  order;  pains  should  be  taken 
to  afford  an  opportunity  for  both  variety  and 
artistic  display.  In  a  residential  section  noth- 
ing is  more  pleasing  than  a  broad  street,  a 
broad  sidewalk,  and  a  broad  lawn  intervening 
between  sidewalk  and  houses.  American  cities 
are  making  unique  contributions  in  this  line. 
Lawns  in  front  of  our  houses  for  the  most  part 

[71] 


MODERN    CITIES 

are  without  a  fence  or  wall.  This  enables  the 
passer-by  to  enjoy  the  shrubbery,  flowers,  and 
green  sward.  The  private  lawn  becomes  a  social 
factor  and  a  contribution  to  the  esthetic  side 
of  human  nature.  But  as  one  passes  through 
the  residential  sections  of  Rome,  Naples,  Genoa, 
Milan,  or  Turin  in  Italy,  of  Dresden,  Leipzig 
or  Berlin  in  Germany,  one  has  a  constant  de- 
sire to  participate  in  the  joy  of  lawns  in  front 
of  houses  which,  alas!  are  hidden  by  obstructive 
walls  and  hedges. 

The  value  of  a  broad  sidewalk  is  very  great, 
especially  in  the  business  sections  of  cities. 
Sidewalks,  of  course,  should  be  constructed  of 
excellent  material  and  should  be  laid  so  as  to 
afford  facility  in  walking.  Concrete  sidewalks 
are  among  the  best.  We  should  like  to  call 
attention  to  the  uses  that  can  be  made  of  the 
arcade  over  the  sidewalk  in  business  sections. 
Take  a  magnificent  street  such  as  the  Via  Venti 
Settembre  in  Genoa.  This  is  a  very  artistic, 
broad  street.  The  sidewalk  measures  from 
eighteen  to  twenty  feet  wide  and  is  covered  with 
a  splendid  arcade.  Bologna  revels  in  such 
arcades.  As  the  Milanese  may  justly  boast  of 
their  diagonal  avenues,  ringstrassen  and  splen- 
did piazzas,  and  the  Genoese  of  their  magnifi- 
cent walls,  and  splendid  port,  so  the  Bolognese 
may  take  pride  in  their  arcades.  As  one  passes 
through  the  arcades  in  Bern,  they  give  one  a 

C72] 


CITY    STREETS 

sense  of  quaintness  and  familiarity.  One  of  the 
chief  values  of  the  arcade  is  to  enable  the  pedes- 
trian to  utilize  the  sidewalk  with  comfort  on  a 
stormy  day.  He  may  take  his  exercise,  attend 
to  necessary  purchases,  and  enjoy  himself  de- 
spite the  inclemency  of  the  weather  or  the  angry 
storm. 

Oftentimes  it  is  necessary  to  carry  a  street 
over  a  stream,  or  other  impediment,  by  means 
of  a  bridge.  A  bridge  is  always  a  very  con- 
spicuous structure.  The  utilitarian  aspects  must 
of  course  be  attended  to.  It  must  be  strong 
and  commodious  enough  to  bear  the  burdens 
imposed  upon  it,  but  it  should  also  be  beau- 
tiful. Nowhere  is  the  work  of  a  municipal  art 
commission  more  necessary  than  here.  A  bridge 
should  have  an  artistic  touch  so  that  it  may  be 
a  thing  of  constant  joy  to  those  compelled  to 
use  it.  The  bridge  itself  should  not  be  over- 
crowded with  decoration.  We  are  not  advocat- 
ing the  erection  of  houses  and  shops  upon  it 
after  the  fashion  of  the  old  London  bridge. 
There  is  indeed  a  fascination  in  a  bridge  like 
the  Ponte  Vecchio  in  Florence,  which  spans  the 
river  Arno.  Here  one  may  purchase  precious 
stones  and  jewelry  to  his  heart's  content,  and 
while  making  his  selections  and  driving  his  bar- 
gain be  totally  unconscious  that  the  river  is  flow- 
ing beneath  him.  One  may  participate  in  sim- 
ilar feelings  on  the  Rialto  in  Venice.  Here 

[73] 


MODERN    CITIES 

there  is  an  improvement  over  the  Ponte  Vecchio 
of  Florence,  for  the  pedestrian  can  take  a  walk 
back  of  the  stores  and  houses  on  the  bridge 
which  commands  a  view  of  the  canal;  that  is, 
if  one  is  walking  on  the  northerly  side  of  the 
bridge  he  commands  a  view  of  the  great  canal 
in  that  direction,  but  the  southerly  view  is  hid- 
den from  him;  and  if  one  is  walking  on  the 
southerly  side  the  shops  and  houses  intercept 
the  view  on  the  northerly  side.  A  modern 
bridge  should  be  free  of  these  obstructions. 
How  absurd  it  would  be  to  erect  houses  on  the 
Dalmazi  Briicke  in  Bern!  This  bridge  spans 
the  River  Aare.  In  walking  across  it  toward 
the  historical  museum,  one  can  catch  a  sublime 
view.  There  are  the  red  roofs  of  houses  in  the 
distance,  the  peculiar  green  of  the  water  in  the 
river,  sunlight  coming  through  banks  of  cloud, 
miles  of  green  sward  and  trees,  and  all  in  a 
magnificent  amphitheater  of  nature.  Surely 
such  a  view  lifts  the  soul  up  to  the  ideal.  What 
a  pity  it  would  be  to  intercept  such  a  soul  feast 
by  any  kind  of  structure  upon  the  bridge,  how 
it  would  impoverish  the  higher  life  of  the 
Bernese  who  take  daily  walks  and  drives  across 
it,  as  well  as  that  of  those  who  take  a  casual 
trip. 

The  bridge  should  be  artistic.  An  ideal  for 
the  bridge  builder  can  be  seen  in  the  Ponte 
Alexandra  III  in  Paris.  This  bridge  was  con- 

[74] 


CITY    STREETS 

structed  in  memory  of  the  czar  whose  name  it 
bears.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Nicholas  II. 
It  is  of  one  span  and  constructed  of  cast  steel. 
Sculpture  and  pylons  are  grouped  so  as  to  leave 
a  splendid  impression  upon  the  mind.  The  en- 
trance to  a  bridge  is  very  important  and  has 
great  artistic  value  in  the  case  of  the  Place  de 
la  Concorde  in  Paris.  A  bridge  should  be  at 
the  level  of  the  street,  in  fact,  it  should  be  a 
continued  street  and  artistic  values  simply 
added  in  an  unobstructive  way  to  make  it 
pleasing. 

It  is  rather  difficult,  if  not  unnecessary,  to 
keep  the  utilitarian  aspects  of  streets  separated 
from  the  artistic.  All  poles  and  wires  must  ulti- 
mately disappear  from  public  streets.  Even- 
tually conduits  will  be  constructed  by  munici- 
palities in  which  all  wires  and  pipes  will  be 
placed.  It  has  now  become  practicable  in  large 
cities  to  place  trolley-wires  underground.  In 
the  best  governed  cities  of  northern  Italy, 
Switzerland  and  Germany,  as  wrell  as  in  some 
cities  of  America,  wires  and  poles  are  not  per- 
mitted to  obstruct  the  street.  In  the  case  of  the 
trolley  the  sustaining  wires  for  the  current  wire 
are  often  buckled  to  the  facades  of  buildings, 
and  where  there  is  no  building,  as  in  parks  and 
squares,  ornamental  poles  are  used. 

The  lighting  of  streets  is  a  very  important 
factor  and  deserves  a  great  deal  of  attention. 

[75] 


MODERN    CITIES 

It  is  the  custom  in  many  places,  as  in  the  Via 
Dante  in  Milan,  and  in  the  streets  of  Florence 
and  Paris,  to  use  gas  with  Welsbach  burners. 
The  electric  arc  is  used,  however,  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  in  all  cities.  The  use  of  orna- 
mented brackets  when  attaching  lights  to  a  wall, 
or  of  ornamental  poles  supporting  the  lights 
adds  much  to  the  attractiveness  of  streets.1 
A  good  beginning  was  made  in  this  direction  in 
New  York  City,  where  a  prize  was  offered  for 
the  most  beautiful  electrolier  to  be  placed  in 
Madison  Square  on  Twenty-third  street,  on  an 
isle  of  safety.  A  splendid  impression  is  left 
upon  one  after  a  stroll  at  night  in  Unter 
den  Linden,  in  Berlin.  This  noted  street  is 
lighted  by  electricity  in  a  very  artistic  way. 
In  1896  the  L'CEuvre  Rationale  Beige,  a 
society  for  municipal  improvements,  offered 
two  prizes,  one  for  the  idea  and  one  for  the 
actual  execution  of  the  result  in  designated 
public  places  that  should  be  lighted  electrically 
in  Brussels.  Eleven  artists  were  appointed  as 
a  jury  and  several  designs  were  recommended. 
One  of  them  for  a  single  candelabrum  for  the 
Place  de  la  Monnaie  has  been  successfully  re- 

1  At  one  time  this  was  a  private  affair.  This  practise 
attained  its  highest  expression  in  the  lamps  of  the  Strozzi 
Palace  in  Florence.  This  fine  artistic  work  is  an  inspira- 
tion to  municipal  art  in  the  matter  of  lighting.  For  light- 
ing, probably  nothing  excels  in  beauty  the  candelabra  of 
Paris,  as  those,  for  example,  on  the  Place  de  la  Concorde. 

[76] 


CITY    STREETS 

produced  in  many  other  cities.  The  effect  is 
very  artistic. 

The  necessary  furnishings  of  a  street,  such 
as  post-office  boxes,  electroliers  or  gas  lamps, 
waste-paper  cans,  fire-alarm  boxes,  signs  and 
other  features,  should  be  combined  where  pos- 
sible into  a  unit  and  the  combination  be  made 
artistically  pleasing. 

Places  of  public  comfort  should  also  be  pro- 
vided. The  proper  localities  for  these  are  in 
piazzas,  parks,  and  other  open  spaces.  It  is 
one  of  the  disgraces  of  American  cities  that  in 
most  of  them  no  such  provision  is  made.  We 
can  well  take  lessons  from  northern  Italian, 
Swiss  and  German  cities.  It  goes  without  say- 
ing that  these  places  should  be  artistically  built 
and  cared  for  by  attendants. 

Streets  should  not  be  used  for  public  adver- 
tising. We  can  never  attain  the  city  artistic 
so  long  as  we  permit  projecting  signs  upon 
business  streets  and  placards  in  glaring  colors 
to  disfigure  the  fa9ades  of  buildings.  Some  at- 
tempts are  being  made  to  correct  this  evil.  San 
Francisco  has  an  ordinance  protecting  poles 
from  being  disfigured  and  prescribing  that  signs 
on  buildings  shall  not  exceed  the  height  of  three 
feet  and  a  length  of  ten  feet.  Chicago  has  an 
ordinance  requiring  that  no  bill-board  on  resi- 
dence street  or  pleasure  drive  shall  be  erected 
without  the  consent  of  the  owners  of  three- 

[77] 


MODERN    CITIES 

fourths  of  the  frontage  of  the  block.  In  Eng- 
land a  society  has  been  formed  called  the 
"Scapa," l  an  organization  for  checking  the 
abuses  of  public  advertising.  American  cities  are 
great  sufferers  from  this  evil  and  it  is  time  it  was 
corrected.  Bill-posting  should  become  a  mu- 
nicipal affair,  or  at  least  should  become  a  matter 
of  municipal  control,  as  it  is  in  Berlin.  Three 
forms  of  advertising  exist  in  European  cities; 
one  consists  of  square  frames  erected  by  the  mu- 
nicipality in  convenient  localities,  the  advertise- 
ments being  regulated  by  the  size  of  these 
squares.  Another  is  the  round  tower  at  street 
corners,  on  which  bills  are  posted  neatly.  This 
can  be  seen  in  many  cities  of  Germany.  The 
third  is  the  kiosk,  which  is  the  prevalent  adver- 
tising provision  in  Paris.  These  kiosks  are  used 
in  selling  newspapers.  The  advertising  is  placed 
on  the  inside  of  the  glass  of  the  upper  section. 
They  suggest  a  very  commendable  way  of  re- 
stricting the  nuisance  of  street  advertising. 

In  general  it  would  be  well  if  we  did  away 
completely  with  all  forms  of  bill-posting.  If 
the  merchant  must  advertise  his  wares  other 
than  by  selling  reliable  goods,  let  him  use  the 
newspapers.  If  we  cannot  do  away  with  bill- 
posting  it  certainly  ought  to  be  subject  to  mu- 
nicipal control.  For  this  supervision  the  mu- 

1  "SCAPA."  This  word  is  formed  from  the  initial  of 
society,  checking,  abuses,  public,  advertising. 

[78] 


CITY    STREETS 

nicipality  might  derive  a  just  revenue.  The  bills 
posted  should  have  artistic  values.  A  good 
suggestion  is  made  by  Charles  Mulford  Robin- 
son in  his  "The  Improvement  of  Towns  and 
Cities,"  that  the  poster  should  "bring  color  to 
city  streets."  That  reveals  another  phase  of  the 
subject  to  him.  In  Italy  the  gray  wall  of  many 
an  old  palace  is  "brightened  by  its  owner's  es- 
cutcheon." Heraldry  thus  "plays  yet  a  decorative 
part  in  modern  streets,  where  the  arms  of  roy- 
alty blaze  in  heavy  gilt  over  shops  that  have 
catered  to  a  reigning  house.  We  ought  to  find 
a  suggestion  here.  In  a  republic  there  may  be 
scant  regard  for  the  crest  of  an  individual,  but 
why  should  not  the  trade-mark  be  made  artis- 
tic, be  colored  and  emblazoned  on  walls  as 
proudly  in  an  age  of  commerce  and  industry, 
as  were  prowess  and  birth  in  chivalric  days?" 
So  the  work  of  the  artist,  the  sculptor,  the 
hammerer  of  iron,  rebus  signs  and  heraldic 
devices  might  give  to  advertisements  a  beauty 
long  unknown,  and  business  streets  would  no 
more  be  crude  and  meaningless.  There  should 
be  "nothing  violently  assertive,  nothing  glaring; 
but  art  would  stud  with  beauty,  life  and  interest, 
the  background  of  harmonious  facades."  Thus 
we  should  find  the  proper  solution  of  the  ad- 
vertisement problem  not  a  discouraging  task,  but 
an  inspiring  opportunity,  and  what  seems  a  far- 
off  goal  would  be  reached  by  very  easy  steps. 

[79] 


MODERN    CITIES 

This  is  a  very  admirable  suggestion,  We 
might  also  urge  that  all  printing  on  shop  win- 
dows and  doors  be  done  artistically  in  gold-leaf, 
as  is  now  required  in  Paris,  and  the  disappear- 
ance of  all  abominable  signs;  the  Indian  that 
stands  in  front  of  the  cigar  store;  the  barber's 
pole  suggestive  of  the  blood-letting  and  band- 
aging of  an  earlier  time;  the  three  golden  balls 
of  the  pawn-shop  that  were  far  more  artistic 
in  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Medici;  the  gorgeous 
ball  of  fire  of  the  cheap  restaurant;  all  sorts  of 
swinging  signs,  and  especially  the  lavish  and 
inartistic  use  made  at  present  of  electricity  to 
mar  streets  by  night. 

Touches  of  nature  on  a  street  through  the 
ministry  of  flowers  and  trees  are  most  desirable. 
They  speak  a  language  higher  than  macadam 
or  asphalt.  They  relieve  the  monotonous  beat. 
They  impart  to  the  walk  the  rhythm  of  poetry. 
The  tree  may  be  utilitarian  as  well  as  esthetic. 
It  can  absorb  carbonic  acid  gas  and  give  out 
oxygen  for  the  use  of  human  lungs  and  brains. 
Its  umbrage  may  protect  us  from  the  torrid  heat 
and  afford  shelter  to  the  traveler  caught  in  a 
rain-storm. 

Among  the  ideal  streets  of  Europe  are  the 
Bismarckstrasse  in  Charlottenburg  and  the  Ave- 
nue de  la  Grande  Armee  and  the  Avenue  du 
Bois  du  Boulogne  in  Paris.  The  Bismarckstrasse 
is  the  center  of  business.  As  we  looked  down 

[80] 


CITY    STREETS 

it  nothing  could  be  more  utilitarian,  and  yet  it 
combined  utility  most  successfully  with  artistic 
element.  Starting  at  the  left,  first  came  a  side- 
walk of  concrete  with  a  fine  row  of  linden  trees 
bordering  the  curb;  then  an  asphalt  road  for 
traffic;  then  a  fine  gravel  road  for  horse-back 
riding,  then  another  row  of  linden  trees.  In 
the  center  was  an  asphalt  road  for  general  pur- 
poses, then  a  fine  row  of  trees,  and  farther  to 
the  right  a  strip  of  lawn  on  which  were  the 
two  sets  of  street-car  tracks.  On  both  sides  of 
the  lawn  were  trees  and  beds  of  flowers;  then, 
to  the  right,  an  asphalt  road  for  general  pur- 
poses; and  finally  a  concrete  sidewalk  bordered 
with  linden  trees.  Certainly  the  impression  was 
most  delightful.  As  can  be  seen  from  this 
meager  description,  this  street  is  at  once  both 
esthetic  and  utilitarian. 

The  Avenue  de  la  Grande  Armee  in  Paris  is 
equally  impressive,  although  different  in  design. 
Standing  with  one's  back  upon  the  Arc  de 
Triomphe  the  street  appears  to  advantage. 
Starting  at  the  right  first  comes  the  concrete 
sidewalk  with  lamps,  then  an  asphalt  street, 
then  a  narrow  strip  of  gravel  with  trees  and 
lamps  between  them,  then  an  asphalt  road  for 
cyclists  but  not  for  motor  cyclists  or  automo- 
biles, after  this  a  concrete  sidewalk  and  then  a 
gravel  space  for  trees  and  lamps.  In  the  center 
are  two  parallel  tracks  for  street  railroads,  and 

[81] 


MODERN    CITIES 

in  the  space  between  the  two  tracks  are  isles  of 
safety  with  lamps  upon  them.  The  pavement 
along  the  tracks  is  Belgian  block.  To  the  right 
of  the  center  is  another  gravel  strip  for  trees 
and  lamps,  then  a  concrete  sidewalk,  then  a 
gravel  strip  with  trees,  lamps  and  walking- 
space;  then  a  street  paved  with  asphalt,  and 
finally  a  concrete  sidewalk  with  lamps  on  the 
curb.  This  makes  a  very  artistic  street,  but  is 
not  so  esthetic  as  the  Bismarckstrasse. 

From  the  view-point  of  the  esthetic  alone,  the 
Avenue  du  Bois  de  Boulogne  is  superior  to  either 
of  the  streets  described.  But  it  lacks  the  quality 
of  utility.  It  is  a  splendid  ideal,  not  for  a  thor- 
oughfare for  business  but  for  a  promenading 
street  in  a  residential  section.  No  provisions  are 
made  for  street-cars.  Strolling  down  this  Ave- 
nue toward  the  Bois  and  taking  it  from  left  to 
right,  there  is  a  concrete  sidewalk  about  four 
and  a  half  feet  wide;  then  a  rough  macadam 
road  about  twenty-one  feet  wide;  then  a  broad 
strip  for  grass,  trees  and  shrubs  measuring  in 
width  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet;  then 
a  sidewalk  of  fine  gravel  forty-five  feet  wide; 
then  a  central  street  paved  with  Belgian  block 
covered  with  a  slight  film  of  asphalt,  fifty-five 
feet  wide;  next,  a  soft  gravel  driveway  for 
horse-back  riding  forty-five  feet  wide.  Then 
another  space  of  beauty  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet.  Here  are  shrubs,  trees,  flowers, 

[82] 


CITY    STREETS 

zigzag  walks  and  a  monument  to  "Alpland,  di- 
recteur  des  traveaux  de  Paris."  This  strip,  to- 
gether with  its  companion  strip  on  the  opposite 
side,  gives  to  the  street  the  appearance  of  a  park, 
and  strolling  down  we  forget  all  about  the 
splendid  houses  that  flank  the  street.  Next  to 
this  is  a  concrete  sidewalk  four  and  a  half  feet 
wide,  then  a  rough  macadam  street  twenty-one 
feet  wide  and  last  of  all  another  concrete  side- 
walk of  four  and  a  half  feet.  Seldom  indeed 
can  one  find  a  more  ideal  street  for  a  residential 
section.  There  is  plenty  of  room.  The  dwellers 
on  this  avenue  are  not  deprived  of  air  and  sun- 
shine. The  horse-back  rider  may  enjoy  himself 
to  his  heart's  content  and  yet  the  nurse  and 
children  may  play  with  perfect  safety. 

Plotters  of  streets  the  wrorld  over  might  find 
splendid  suggestions  in  the  study  of  these  three 
streets. 


[83] 


CHAPTER   V 

THE   VALUE   OF  ART   IN   CITIES 

Civic  art  has  been  compared  to  "A  fire  built 
upon  the  market-place,  where  every  one  may 
light  his  torch;  while  private  art  is  a  fire  built 
upon  a  hearthstone,  which  will  blaze  and  die 
out  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  fortunes." 

It  is  the  function  of  art  to  bring  us  into 
touch  with  the  ideal.  The  artist  gives  an  ex- 
pression of  ideal  life  in  tangible  forms.  The 
painter,  sculptor  and  architect  make  visible  some 
part  of  the  inner  fairy-land  which  always  fas- 
cinates us.  Such  expressions  are  demanded  by 
human  nature.  When  the  deep  things  of  re- 
ligion, love,  patriotism,  sacrifice,  heroism,  in- 
vention, discovery  appeal  to  us  through  the  eye 
and  the  ear  by  the  ministries  of  art,  not  only 
do  they  give  us  an  inner  satisfaction  but  by  re- 
action they  tend  to  cultivate  what  is  best  within 
us.  We  are  living  in  a  beautiful  world.  Beauty 
is  both  our  heritage  and  our  atmosphere.  This 
is  the  natural  world,  the  world  unspoiled  by 
man's  devices.  What  a  contradiction  therefore 
to  compel  the  children  of  nature  to  live  in  ugly 
cities!  The  glory  of  the  sunset  and  the  cap- 

[84] 


VALUE    OF    ART    IN    CITIES 

tivating  landscape  are  our  natural  rights;  and 
irrational  agglomerations  of  brick  and  mortar 
staring  us  out  of  countenance  and  other  things 
much  worse  are  our  unnatural  wrongs.  Munici- 
palities must  take  lessons  from  human  nature. 
The  homes  of  the  people  are  an  object-lesson 
in  what  their  natures  demand.  What  home  so 
poor  but  has  some  sort  of  a  picture  on  the  wall? 
What  woman  so  poor  but  strives  after  esthetic 
effect  in  the  dress  of  her  children?  It  is  not 
good  for  man  to  live  in  unesthetic  surroundings. 
People  living  in  artistic  surroundings  will  have 
a  richer  inner  life.  We  put  persons  in  jail  who 
violate  ethical  law;  will  not  the  day  come  when 
we  shall  incarcerate  people  for  violating  the 
laws  of  esthetics? 

The  Athens  of  Pericles  was  at  once  an  ex- 
pression of  the  high  ideals  to  which  the  Greeks 
had  attained  and  a  stimulation  of  those  ideals 
in  the  minds  of  the  rising  generation.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  when  civic  art  is  de- 
veloped to  such  perfection  it  does  not  stand 
alone.  The  age  that  produced  a  beautiful 
Athens  gave  also  to  the  world  poets  and  dram- 
atists like  jEschylus,  Sophocles  and  Euripides 
and  philosophers  like  Plato.  In  other  words 
civic  art  becomes  an  expression  of  the  higher 
life  along  its  noblest  and  most  comprehensive 
forms  of  development  and  naturally  reacts  upon 
it  in  such  a  way  as  to  accelerate  its  value. 

[85] 


MODERN    CITIES 

We  must  not  think  from  this  that  our  advo- 
cacy of  civic  art  belongs  to  the  category  of  the 
impracticable.  We  are  contending  that  it  is 
not  necessary  for  utilities  to  be  unesthetic. 
They  can  be  touched  with  beauty.  In  a  cer- 
tain city  it  was  proposed  to  build  a  sea  wall 
along  the  bay  and  provide  proper  docks  so  as 
to  encourage  the  commerce  of  the  city.  It  was 
asked  what  were  the  plans  looking  toward  giv- 
ing this  scheme  a  touch  of  art.  The  engineer 
replied,  "We  have  not  the  time  or  the  money  to 
bother  with  this  phase  of  the  problem.  We 
must  content  ourselves  with  the  bare  material- 
istic accomplishments."  But  we  contend  that 
it  does  not  require  more  time  to  make  a  thing 
beautiful  than  it  does  to  make  it  ugly;  and  as 
to  expense,  it  will  sometimes  take  less  money,  for 
art  demands  that  a  thing  shall  be  done  in  the 
best  possible  manner.  This  always  means  even 
the  saving  of  money  in  the  end.  Civic  art  in- 
deed has  to  do  with  city  planning,  street-mak- 
ing, the  parking  and  beautifying  of  the  neces- 
sary street  furniture,  the  fa9ades,  front  and 
sky-line  of  houses  and  other  structures,  public 
buildings,  churches  and  cathedrals,  bridges  and 
tunnels,  railway  stations,  places  of  public  com- 
fort, parks — in  fine,  civic  art  must  teach  us 
to  touch  the  common  places  of  our  city  with 
beauty. 

The  corners,  niches  and  squares  of  a  city  can 
[86] 


VALUE    OF   ART   IN   CITIES 

be  utilized  for  displaying  many  forms  of  sculp- 
ture. We  recall  that  on  a  beautiful  Sunday 
afternoon  in  Paris  we  came  upon  something 
that  delighted  us.  During  the  morning  we  had 
feasted  on  the  masterpieces,  the  Venus  of  Milo, 
and  Mona  Lisa  in  the  Louvre.  We  were  re- 
turning to  spend  the  afternoon  with  Rubens. 
Suddenly  we  came  upon  a  fountain  placed  in  an 
acute  angle  formed  by  two  streets.  Here  on 
this  spot  that  otherwise  would  be  an  eyesore, 
is  a  noble  statue  of  Moliere  and  a  fountain  and 
drinking-place  for  horses  beneath.  What  a 
splendid  combination  of  utility  and  beauty! 
How  pleasant  to  be  thrown  into  a  reverie  con- 
cerning the  great  moral  dramatist,  the  creator 
of  Monsieur  Jourdain,  rather  than  to  feel  dis- 
gusted with  an  unattractive  pile  of  masonry! 

The  same  notion  is  carried  out  in  a  different 
way  on  Ludwigstrasse  in  Munich.  Looking 
in  a  southerly  direction,  the  eye  is  met  with  the 
pleasing  view  of  the  Feldherrnhalle  or  Hall  of 
Generals.  It  is  built  after  the  manner  of  the 
Loggia  dei  Lanzi  on  the  Piazza  della  Signoria 
in  Florence.  Such  an  ending  to  a  street  cer- 
tainly gives  it  a  classic  touch. 

The  presence  of  triumphal  arches  in  cities 
connects  us  at  once  with  the  contributions  of  the 
Roman  civilization  to  the  modern  world.  The 
day  is  not  far  distant  we  trust  when  we  shall 
not  need  triumphal  arches  through  which  vic- 

[87] 


MODERN    CITIES 

torious  armies  with  their  booty  of  war  and 
bespeaking  untold  misery  and  destruction  of 
economic  wealth  shall  march.  The  triumphal 
arches  of  Severus  commemorating  the  victory 
of  the  emperor  and  his  sons  over  the  Parthians, 
Arabians,  and  Adiabeni,  of  Titus  celebrating 
the  defeat  of  the  Jews  in  70  of  our  era  and  of 
Constantine  reminding  us  of  the  victory  of  the 
emperor  over  Maxentius  near  Ponte  Molle  in 
the  year  312  A.  D.,  where  Constantine  also 
declared  himself  in  favor  of  Christianity,  are 
still  standing  in  the  Forum.  Patterned  after 
these  are  the  Siegestor  in  Munich,  which  is 
dedicated  by  Ludwig  I  to  the  Bavarian  army, 
the  Arco  della  Pace  in  Milan,  erected  to  Na- 
poleon III  and  Victor  Emmanuel  II,  the 
Arc  de  Triomphe  in  Paris  and  the  Wash- 
ington Arch  in  New  York.  The  horses  on 
the  Arco  della  Pace  are  certainly  splendid 
examples  of  art.  The  Arc  de  Triomphe  is  a 
fine  object-lesson.  It  is  a  work  of  art  in  a  most 
beautiful  setting.  From  the  top  of  it  is  a  mag- 
nificent view  of  Paris  and  one  obtains  a  splen- 
did notion  of  the  twelve  avenues  that  radiate 
from  it.  With  all  our  heart  we  felt  like  ex- 
claiming, well  done,  Haussmann!  Here  again 
we  are  reminded  of  the  wedding  of  the  utili- 
tarian and  the  esthetic.  The  reconstruction  of 
Paris  under  the  expert  leadership  of  Haussmann 
is  a  triumph  for  both  of  these  aspects  of  life. 

[88] 


VALUE    OF    ART    IN    CITIES 

The  Brandenburger  Tor  in  Berlin,  built  by 
Langhans  in  imitation  of  the  propylaea  at 
Athens,  shows  how  the  arch  can  be  used  very 
effectively  and  beautifully  as  an  entrance  to 
a  public  garden. 

The  placing  of  great  monuments  in  squares 
is  very  fitting.  Italy  has  learned  this  lesson 
thoroughly.  Victor  Emmanuel,  Cavour,  Gari- 
baldi and  Mazzini  are  loyally  commemorated. 
What  sentiments  and  emotions  are  kept  alive 
in  United  Italy  as  her  sons  and  daughters  con- 
template these  works  of  art!  At  Milan  there 
is  a  noble  statue  of  Cavour.  On  the  pedestal 
stands  a  heroic  figure  of  the  statesman,  and 
beneath,  Italy,  in  the  form  of  a  female,  is 
writing  his  name  in  letters  of  gold.  At  Bologna 
the  equestrian  statue  of  Garibaldi  is  a  splendid 
piece  of  work.  In  the  Piazza  Corvetto 1  in 
Genoa  there  is  a  very  commanding  equestrian 
statue  of  Victor  Emmanuel  II  and  a  modest 
statue  of  Mazzini.  This  square  is  one  of  the 
most  pleasing  spots  in  Europe.  It  is  an  im- 
portant civic  center.  As  one  looks  down  upon 
it  from  the  gardens  of  the  Villetta  Di  Negro 
on  the  west,  it  looks  as  if  a  section  of  beautiful 
open  country  had  been  transferred  to  the  very 
heart  of  Genoa.  The  artistic  arrangement  of 
the  roads,  the  lawns,  trees  and  flowers,  the  no- 
ble statue  in  the  center,  the  gardens  of  the 

1  See  Frontispiece. 
[89] 


MODERN    CITIES 

Acquasola  to  the  east,  all  combine  to  make  this 
an  ideal  spot.  Nature  has  contributed  her  share 
by  giving  hills  both  east  and  west  of  the  piazza. 
These  hills  are  terraced  and  are  covered  with 
waterfalls  and  gardens  filled  with  trees  and 
flowers.  We  know  of  no  center  which  combines 
in  a  better  way  touches  of  nature,  contributions 
of  art  and  the  utilitarian  aspect.  Surely,  Italy 
is  doing  splendidly  by  the  men  who  laid  their 
lives  upon  the  altar  of  the  fatherland.  She  also, 
as  we  have  seen,  remembers  men  of  letters  and 
the  magicians  of  the  plastic  arts.  There  is  a 
noble  statue  of  Dante  in  Florence,  of  Leonardo 
da  Vinci  in  Milan,  and  of  Columbus  in  Genoa. 
The  one  of  Columbus  is  fittingly  placed  in  the 
Piazza  Acquaverde.  There  he  stands  welcom- 
ing people  to  his  Genoa  as  in  spirit  he  has 
welcomed  so  many  millions  to  his  new  world. 

Can  there  be  anything  more  fitting  for  a 
municipality  than  to  provide  monuments  for  its 
squares  and  niches  of  those  who  have  worthily 
distinguished  themselves  in  any  department  of 
human  endeavor?  Great  care  must  of  course 
be  exercised  to  have  these  forms  of  expression 
conform  to  the  most  rigid  standards  of  the  plas- 
tic arts.  The  products  of  the  granite  companies 
scattered  through  the  villages  of  the  United 
States  are  a  disgrace  to  us.  The  traveler  must 
feel  inspired  in  the  presence  of  the  tangible 
expression  by  art  of  some  of  the  persons  and 

[90] 


VALUE    OF    ART    IN    CITIES 

events  which  have  made  history.  What  more 
inspiring  than  to  take  a  leisurely  stroll  through 
the  Sieges- Alice  (the  avenue  of  victory)  in  the 
Tiergarten  in  Berlin!  This  avenue  is  most 
artistically  decorated.  It  is  flanked  by  the 
statues  of  thirty-two  Prussian  rulers.  Behind 
each  monarch  is  an  arch  adorned  in  the  style 
prevailing  during  this  particular  ruler's  reign 
and  bearing  hermes-busts  of  two  of  his  contem- 
poraries. Here  then  is  an  avenue  cut  through 
a  splendid  park  with  all  that  nature  can  do 
around  it,  where  tree,  shrub,  flower,  green 
sward,  contour  of  hill  and  dingly  nooks  and  the 
singing  of  birds  are  in  great  wealth  and  the 
avenue  itself  garnished  with  the  masterpieces 
of  the  sculptor's  chisel. 

In  contrast  with  this  are  the  Loggie  degli 
Uffizi  in  Florence.  These  are  "Cabined,  cribbed, 
confined"  in  the  very  heart  of  a  congested  city. 
In  a  narrow  street  with  the  famous  Uffizi  gal- 
lery on  one  side  and  the  post-office  on  the  other 
the  pillars  of  the  colonnades  of  these  buildings 
are  decorated  with  statues  of  celebrated  men. 
Benvenuto  Cellini,  Galileo  Galilei,  Amerigo 
Vespucci,  Niccolo  Machiavelli,  Giovanni  Boc- 
caccio, Francesco  Petrarca,  Dante  Alighieri, 
Michelangiolo  Buonarroti,  Leonardo  da  Vinci, 
Donatello,  Giotto  and  others  are  found  here. 
What  an  inspiration  to  any  one  who  has  a  deep 
sentiment  for  the  best  things  in  human  life  to 


MODERN    CITIES 

be  associated  with  the  memories  that  cluster 
around  the  achievements  of  these  men!  And 
what  enrichment  to  the  life  of  the  municipality! 

We  know  of  no  finer  work  that  a  municipality 
can  do  after  it  has  made  proper  provision  for 
the  physical  needs  of  its  citizens,  and  this  in  it- 
self is  no  small  task  in  the  light  of  modern 
demands,  than  to  bring  them  into  touch  with  the 
great  men  who  have  contributed  to  the  well- 
being  of  humanity.  One  morning  in  the  Bahn- 
hofstrasse  in  the  city  of  Zurich  we  were  de- 
lighted to  find  the  statue  of  a  noble  educator. 
Zurich  is  one  of  the  best  governed  cities  in 
Europe.  The  Bahnhofstrasse  is  one  of  its  best 
streets.  It  is  broad,  well-constructed,  with  very 
fine  business  buildings  abutting  it  and  it  opens 
at  one  end  toward  the  Zurich- See. 

This  particular  morning  was  full  of  sunshine 
and  we  were  much  interested  in  the  open  market 
upon  the  street,  where  the  venders  were  selling 
the  products  of  their  gardens  to  the  citizens. 
There  in  this  busy  street  in  front  of  the  Linthes- 
cher  school-house  stands  the  statue  of  Johann 
Heinrich  Pestalozzi.  The  fine  old  school-master 
and  pioneer  in  educational  theory  and  practise 
is  looking  tenderly  into  the  face  of  a  ragged 
boy  and  the  child  in  turn  looks  at  him  with  the 
awakening  wonder  of  a  young  soul  and  with 
perfect  confidence.  Pestalozzi  was  one  of  the 
men  that  gave  us  our  modern  system  of  educa- 

192] 


THE  PESTALOZZI  STATUE  IX  ZURICH 


VALUE    OF    ART   IN    CITIES 

tion.  Following  in  the  footsteps  of  Rousseau 
he  refused  to  comprise  all  education  within  the 
limits  of  book  knowledge.  He  contended  that 
the  education  of  his  day  needed  a  recrudescence. 
People  had  to  unlearn  much.  Education,  if  it 
knows  its  business,  must  follow  the  lines  of 
development  in  the  individual  and  instruct  him 
along  the  lines  of  the  evolution  of  his  experi- 
ential development.  Rousseau  revolutionized 
the  system  of  education  by  clinging  to  the 
injunction:  "Study  the  subject  you  have  to 
act  upon."  Pestalozzi  took  up  the  advice  and 
believed  that  education  should  be  based  upon 
the  learner's  experience,  must  strengthen  the 
powers  of  the  learner's  mind  and  do  this  by 
applying  its  methods  to  the  natural  evolution 
of  soul  and  body. 

Simple  as  this  seems  to  us  to-day,  yet  to  an 
age  that  worshiped  book-learning,  it  was  a 
distinct  step  in  advance.  For  then  as  too  often 
nowadays  there  was  more  attention  paid  to 
the  pupils'  knowledge  of  a  book  than  to  the 
all-round  development  of  those  powers  which 
later  could  be  applied  to  a  book  or  the  manag- 
ing of  a  factory.  What  more  inspiring  monu- 
ment then  could  Zurich  possess  than  that  of 
one  of  her  own  sons,  and  such  a  son!  What 
greater  inspiration  could  the  pupils  of  the 
Linthescher  school  obtain  than  by  looking  into 
the  face  of  one  who  practised  unselfishness  and 

[93] 


MODERN    CITIES 

sacrificed  so  much  for  an  ideal  that  would  help 
humanity?  Geneva  has  equally  honored  Jean 
Jacques  Rousseau.  Zurich  has  also  remembered 
the  noble  Zwingli,  one  of  the  great  heroes  of  the 
protestant  reformation. 

We  have  no  objection  to  the  devotion  of 
space  to  great  national  monuments  in  honor  of 
the  magnificent  sacrifices  which  have  been  made 
through  war;  although  we  sincerely  hope  that 
the  present  century  will  witness  fewer  of 
these  erected  and  more  erected  to  those  men 
and  women  who  benefit  the  human  race  along 
the  nobler  arts  of  cooperation  through  science, 
art,  literature,  philosophy,  municipal  and  na- 
tional betterment  in  government,  etc.  There  is 
something  majestic  about  Trafalgar  Square  in 
London,  the  splendid  lions  and  the  column  be- 
speak a  noble  man  and  a  great  victory.  There 
is  something  inspiring  about  the  colossal  statue 
of  Bavaria  and  the  Hall  of  Fame  back  of  it 
in  Munich.  This  Teutonic  woman,  emblematic 
of  her  country,  gives  one  an  impression  of 
majesty  and  of  great  stability. 

One  of  the  noblest  uses,  however,  to  which 
space  can  be  put  is  the  placing  upon  it  of  such 
a  monument  as  the  one  to  the  International 
Postal  Union  in  the  city  of  Bern,  Switzerland. 
This  is  of  world-wide  significance.  This  work 
of  such  noble  conception  was  executed  by  Rene 
de  St.  Marceaux.  The  monument  preaches  the 

[94] 


VALUE    OF    ART   IN    CITIES 

gospel  of  universal  peace  and  helpfulness.  Why 
spend  money  on  arms  and  death-dealing  war 
vessels  when  it  is  possible  for  the  nations  of  the 
world  the  moment  they  learn  to  pull  together 
to  serve  each  other  and  help  each  other  as  they 
actually  do  through  the  postal  union?  This 
talk  of  a  struggle  for  existence  must  give  way 
to  cooperation  for  existence.  This  monument 
is  a  noble  conception.  A  figure  of  the  earth 
rests  upon  masses  of  natural  rock.  Encircling 
it  are  five  figures  representing  the  continents 
handing  messages  each  to  the  other.  Below 
and  at  a  distance  from  the  globe  sits  a  female 
figure  embodying  Switzerland.  Her  right  hand 
is  on  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  confederation  and 
she  is  contemplating  the  earth  bound  together 
in  this  beautiful  way  through  the  services  of  the 
postal  union.  There  is  naturally  a  look  of 
satisfaction  on  her  face  and  well  there  might 
be.  The  making  possible  of  international  com- 
munication through  the  mails  is  one  of  the  un- 
dying achievements  of  the  race.  To  Switzer- 
land the  honor  for  this  accomplishment  is  due. 
Fountains  can  be  put  to  splendid  municipal 
uses.  Who  has  ever  visited  modern  Rome  with- 
out coming  away  with  an  indelible  impression 
of  its  fountains?  What  a  magnificent  piece  of 
work  is  the  fountain  of  Trevi!  One  gets  a  fine 
example  of  the  utilization  of  the  fountain  in  a 
square  in  the  Piazza  del  Populo.  On  the  east- 

[95] 


MODERN    CITIES 

erly  side  is  a  wall  covered  with  sphinxes.  In 
the  center  there  is  a  great  obelisk  surrounded 
at  the  base  by  four  sphinxes  with  water  oozing 
from  their  mouths.  There  is  also  a  splendid 
fountain  on  the  easterly  side  and  another  on  the 
westerly.  Above  this  one  is  the  wolf  nursing 
Romulus  and  Remus.  The  adornment  of  this 
Piazza,  and  important  thoroughfare  is  pleasing 
in  every  way  and  worthy  of  imitation  by  any 
municipality. 


[96] 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE     VALUE     OF     PARKS — IMPRESSIONS     AT     SANS 
SOUCI  AND  VERSAILLES 

"In  growth  of  taste,  no  educator  of  the  people  has  been 
more  valuable  than  parks.  Their  attractiveness  is  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  causes  of  that  everywhere  increasing 
desire  for  more  perfection  in  home  surroundings." 

ANY  student  of  the  subject  will  readily  agree 
with  this  sentiment.  Parks  have  a  physical 
function  to  perform.  They  are  a  relief  from 
the  heat  and  dust  of  the  street.  The  air  in 
them  is  less  saturated  with  the  smells  and  im- 
purities oozing  from  all  sorts  of  manufactories. 
The  cool  shade  under  the  umbrage  of  a  noble 
tree  or  beside  a  quiet  lake  affords  a  relaxation 
which  becomes  a  precious  boon  to  the  over- 
worked of  our  large  cities.  Here  are  sunshine, 
plenty  of  good  breathing  air,  quietude,  relief 
from  the  never-ceasing  whirr  of  traffic  and  a 
chance  to  rest  from  the  exactitudes  of  daily  toil, 
and  too  often  alas!  an  escape  from  the  sweat- 
shop and  slum. 

The  psychological  value  is  blended  with  the 
physical.  The  sine  qua  non  of  our  mental  life 

[97] 


MODERN    CITIES 

is  change.  No  change,  no  psychological  ex- 
perience. Can  any  one  estimate  the  value  to 
a  poor  family  of  a  day  at  the  park?  There  is 
oxygen  for  the  brain  and  as  a  consequence  a 
better  grasp  by  the  children  of  the  lessons  at 
school  during  the  following  week.  There  is 
a  stimulation  to  digestion  and  as  a  result  more 
deliberation  and  gentleness  on  the  part  of  the 
mother  and  father  in  the  treatment  of  their 
children.  No  one  can  measure  the  psychological 
results  which  may  become  important  assets  to 
the  municipality  and  the  country  at  large 
through  the  mental  ministries  of  the  park. 
Many  of  the  subtle  results  are  undefinable. 
They  are  like  Senator  Ingalls'  conception  of  a 
Kansas  day.  "Something  that  cannot  be  de- 
scribed, but  once  seen  can  never  be  forgotten." 
Only  in  the  case  of  the  good  influence  of  the 
park  they  never  can  be  seen  but  they  can  be 
realized  by  any  one  capable  of  analyzing  hidden 
forces  in  the  realm  of  the  higher  life.  A  day  at 
the  park  would  make  for  the  mental  well-being 
of  any  business-man,  any  day-laborer,  any 
child  or  any  mother. 

The  esthetic  values  add  to  the  witchery  and 
nobility  of  the  inner  life.  As  yet  most  of  us  are 
barbarians  as  far  as  the  esthetic  is  concerned. 
Esthetics  and  ethics  will  be  the  last  two  domains 
to  become  the  property  of  each  soul.  But  there 
are  none  so  esthetically  poor  but  can  enjoy  the 

[98] 


THE    VALUE    OF   PARKS 

ministry  of  flowers,  touches  of  landscape  gar- 
dening, the  utilizing  of  hill  and  valley,  the  rustic 
bridge  over  the  dell,  the  swans  on  the  lake,  the 
wonderful  variety  of  tree  and  shrub  and  the 
green  sward.  Here  among  these  touches  of 
nature  brought  under  the  dominance  of  the  art 
of  man  is  imparted  a  contribution  to  the  higher 
life  that  a  soul  like  Wordsworth  and  all  human 
beings  to  the  measure  of  their  capacity  can  feel. 
The  following  are  in  part  the  lines  Wordsworth 
composed  in  the  Wye  valley  a  few  miles  above 
Tintern  Abbey,  where  indeed  nature  is  wild 
with  the  ravishings  of  beauty: 

"These  beauteous  forms, 

Through  a  long  absence,  have  not  been  to  me 
As  is  a  landscape  to  a  blind  man's  eye: 
But  oft  in  lonely  rooms,  and  'mid  the  din 
Oi  towns  and  cities,  I  have  owed  to  them, 
In  hours  of  weariness,  sensations  sweet, 
Felt  in  the  blood,  and  felt  along  the  heart; 
And  passing  even  into  my  purer  mind, 
With  tranquil  restoration: — feelings  too 
Of  unremembered  pleasure:  such,  perhaps, 
As  have  no  slight  or  trivial  influence 
On  that  best  portion  of  a  good  man's  life, 
His  little,  nameless,  unremembered  acts 
Of  kindness  and  of  love.     Nor  less,  I  trust, 
To  them  I  may  have  owed  another  gift, 
Of  aspect  more  sublime;  that  blessed  mood, 
In  which  the  burden  of  the  mystery, 
In  which  the  heavy  and  the  weary  weight 
Of  all  this  unintelligible  world 
Is  lightened: — that  serene  and  blessed  mood, 
In  which  the  affections  gently  lead  us  on, — 

[99] 


MODERN    CITIES 

Until,  the  breath  of  this  corporeal  frame 

And  even  the  motion  of  our  human  blood 

Almost  suspended,  we  are  laid  asleep 

In  body,  and  become  a  living  soul 

While  with  an  eye  made  quiet  by  the  power 

Of  harmony,  and  the  deep  power  of  joy, — 

We  see  into  the  life  of  things." 

It  is  given  to  very  few  to  voice  their  deepest 
thoughts  and  emotions  in  such  sublime  language, 
but  all  feel  unconsciously  something  from  the 
very  heart  of  nature  speaking  to  their  inmost 
soul.  Even  those  who  find  little  value  in  the 
temples  of  organized  religion  may  be  able  to 
worship  in  the  temple  of  nature  in  terms  of  true 
appreciation  that  lifts  up  the  soul  to  a  higher 
plane  of  living. 

Parks  may  be  indeed  of  the  highest  educa- 
tional value.  People  should  see  in  them  sug- 
gestions for  their  own  flower  garden.  Here 
they  may  become  familiar  with  flowers  and  trees 
and  pick  up  the  rudiments  of  botany.  It  is 
getting  to  be  a  habit  now  to  add  the  feature 
of  the  botanical  garden  and  zoological  depart- 
ment to  the  park.  Thus  an  opportunity  is  af- 
forded in  such  cities  as  London,  Berlin,  New 
York  and  most  other  principal  cities  of  the 
world  not  only  to  come  in  contact  with  dimly 
conscious  and  beautiful  plant  life  but  also  to 
study  the  expressions  of  nature  in  various  forms 
of  animal  life. 

[100] 


THE    VALUE    OF    PARKS 

The  playground  feature  of  the  park  must  not 
be  overlooked.  In  fact,  the  park  is  largely  a 
playground  for  grownups.  A  human  being  is 
a  natural  player.  Lack  of  play  drives  men  and 
women  wrong.  But  this  is  another  story.  Play, 
however,  is  a  most  essential  thing  to  a  child. 
The  subtle  coordinations  between  mind  and 
body  must  be  learned.  They  can  only  be  learned 
through  experience.  Brain  tracks  must  be 
opened,  afferent  and  efferent  nerves  must  learn 
the  habit  of  their  work;  eye  must  learn  to  co- 
operate with  hand,  all  the  members  of  the  body 
must  be  brought  into  such  shape  that  they  will 
be  instantly  ready  for  united  and  effective 
action.  The  child  learns  these  things  through 
play.  The  playground  is  a  consideration  in- 
dependent of  the  park.  It  is  something  that 
must  be  attached  to  each  school  and  scattered 
at  frequent  intervals  through  the  city;  but  some- 
where in  the  park  this  most  necessary  oppor- 
tunity of  engaging  the  ceaseless  activity  of  the 
child  must  be  found. 

A  historic  touch  adds  value  to  a  park.  We 
shall  never  forget  our  visit  to  Sans  Souci.  Usu- 
ally there  is  a  tinge  of  disappointment  when 
one  visits  a  far-famed  place.  The  imagination 
plays  the  trick  of  idealizing  to  such  an  extent 
that  when  we  face  the  actuality  our  preformed 
ideal  makes  it  look  cheap  and  commonplace. 
Not  so  with  Sans  Souci.  It  outwitted  even  our 

[101] 


MODERN    CITIES 

imagination.  The  noble  vistas,  the  interblenc 
ing  of  nature  and  art,  the  palace  itself  an 
orangery  and  the  associations  of  these  scen< 
with  Frederick  the  Great  and  Voltaire,  ce: 
tainly  make  a  combination  difficult  to  duplical 
in  this  world  of  ours. 

The  great  fountain  fascinated  us.  The  basi 
is  surrounded  with  twelve  figures,  which  ai 
French  works  of  art  of  the  eighteenth  centur 
The  water  in  the  fountain  is  driven  into  tl 
air  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  fee 
From  the  spray  we  were  able  to  see  rainbov 
from  many  angles.  Sunshine  and  falling  watt 
introduced  us  into  a  world  of  magic.  We  a 
cended  the  steps  of  Sans  Souci  from  the  foui 
tain.  These  steps  are  sixty-six  feet  in  heigl 
and  are  intersected  by  six  terraces.  On  tl 
highest  terrace  are  two  beautiful  fountains  froi 
which  the  water  flows  forth  in  the  form  of  gre* 
bells.  Here  is  Sans  Souci!  Here  roams  tl 
spirit  of  Frederick  the  Great!  He  formed 
rare  combination — a  man  of  indomitable,  prai 
tical  and  executive  ability  and  an  idealist; 
hater  of  humanity  in  general  and  yet  full  c 
splendid  attachments;  possessing  a  keen  sem 
of  humor  and  yet  failing  to  acknowledge  tl 
right  of  banter  in  any  one  but  himself.  Wit 
little  regard  for  women,  he  had  fallen  genuinel 
in  love  and  could  well  be  excused  for  his  cole 
ness  toward  the  wife  which  his  father  force 

[102] 


THE    VALUE    OF    PARKS 

upon  him.  He  loved  his  Germany  but  de- 
spised the  German  tongue  and  regarded  it  as 
boorish.  At  his  death  he  left  an  army  number- 
ing about  200,000,  drilled  to  perfection  and 
ready  for  any  emergency;  he  paid  strict  atten- 
tion to  matters  of  administration ;  he  even  super- 
vised the  machinery  of  justice  and  yet  was  able 
to  immerse  himself  in  French  literature  and 
correspond  with  men  of  the  caliber  of  Voltaire. 
He  added  Silesia  to  the  possessions  of  Germany 
but  would  not  remove  a  windmill  unrighteously 
that  was  obnoxious  to  him  at  Sans  Souci.  He 
was  a  lover  of  art  as  well  as  letters,  a  lover 
Df  music  as  well  as  of  jovial  and  brilliant  com- 
pany. It  was  this  man  that  raised  a  small  state 
into  the  foremost  place  in  Europe.  One  of  the 
most  impressive  paintings  is  one  showing  Na- 
poleon at  the  tomb  of  Frederick  at  Potsdam. 
He  stands  there  very  reverentially  with  hat  in 
band  and  is  deeply  moved.  He  is  reported  to 
have  said  upon  this  occasion:  "Gentlemen,  this 
svas  one  of  the  greatest  commanders  of  whom 
listory  has  made  mention.  If  he  were  alive 
;o-day,  I  should  not  be  standing  here."  Such 
vas  Frederick  the  Great.  Did  we  not  believe 
;hat  great  men  were  always  idealists  his  career 
vould  seem  to  present  an  anomaly. 

The  dominating  presence  of  another  genius 
s  felt  here.  It  is  that  of  Voltaire.  He  dwelt 
lere  with  Frederick  for  two  or  three  years. 

[103] 


MODERN    CITIES 

They  parted  in  ill-humor,  which  was  a  great 
pity.  Similarity  of  genius  and  the  possibility 
of  fellowship  are  two  quite  different  things.  It 
is  contended  that  congenial  fellowship  is  based 
on  dissimilarity.  It  is  very  difficult  to  gener- 
alize upon  such  matters.  When  all  is  said 
Voltaire  was  a  great  soul.  Some  day  he  will 
be  better  appreciated  than  he  is  to-day.  He 
was  a  hater  of  all  sham  and  hypocrisy.  A 
critic  of  organized  religion  as  he  found  it,  he 
built  a  church  at  Ferney  and  placed  this  in- 
scription over  the  entrance:  "Voltaire  deo 
erexit."  He  hated  the  theology  of  his  day  but 
gave  religion  a  place  of  supreme  importance. 
He  believed  in  the  value,  authority  and  right  of 
human  reason.  He  accepted  no  past  however 
sacred  when  its  contribution  was  to  his  mind 
falsehood  and  hollowness.  He  lived  at  a  time 
when  organized  religion  and  politics  had  to  be 
reconstructed.  The  common  people  who  had 
too  long  been  oppressed  were  clamoring  to  be 
heard.  Voltaire  became  their  champion  both 
against  the  church  and  the  monarchy.  He 
wielded  his  trenchant  pen  in  their  interest;  he 
put  his  literary  style  at  their  command.  How 
much  they  appreciated  him  can  be  seen  from 
the  ovation  they  gave  him  on  his  last  entrance 
into  Paris  on  the  occasion  of  the  performance 
of  his  "Irene."  No  better  testimony  to  the 
value  of  his  work  can  be  found  than  in  the  irra- 

[104] 


THE   VALUE    OF   PARKS 

tional  attitude  of  ecclesiasts  toward  him.  Men 
who  never  read  his  works  shunned  any  contact 
with  him  as  with  the  archdemon ;  men  called  him 
infidel  and  atheist  without  an  iota  of  founda- 
tion for  the  latter,  but  much  for  the  former,  if 
by  infidelity  is  meant  the  destruction  of  assumed 
authority  in  matters  of  the  soul.  How  much 
the  monarchy  feared  him  can  be  seen  from  the 
fact  that  he  dared  not  live  in  the  capital  of  the 
country  which  he  tried  so  faithfully  to  serve. 

As  we  stand  here  then,  the  influences  of  these 
two  great  souls  are  suggested  to  us.  For  weal 
or  woe  the  spirit  of  Voltaire  is  still  marching  on 
in  the  world.  Everything  is  being  submitted  to 
reason.  For  much  woe  the  expert  military 
spirit  of  the  great  Frederick  has  been  be- 
queathed to  modern  Germany  and  the  world. 
It  is  full  time  for  us  to  learn  from  him  on  the 
constructive  side  of  his  nature.  A  touch  of  his 
idealism  would  not  be  detrimental  to  us  in  the 
least.  Verily  we  have  here  in  Sans  Souci  all  the 
influences,  hidden  as  they  are,  which  prevailed 
during  the  eighteenth  century  and  have  gone  to 
make  this  modern  world. 

After  visiting  the  art  gallery  and  enjoying 
Rubens,  we  were  ready  for  the  palace  itself, 
the  actual  place  where  these  men  lived  and 
worked  and  indulged  in  spritely  conversation 
with  the  wits  of  Europe!  The  chamber  of 
Voltaire  is  unique.  It  is  decorated  with  birds 

[105] 


MODERN    CITIES 

and  flowers,  and  here  is  a  porcelain  statue  of 
the  poet. 

In  the  library  are  evidences  of  the  literary 
tastes  of  the  great  royal  master.  There  are 
some  eighteen  hundred  volumes  of  French 
works.  We  saw  samples  of  the  handwriting 
of  Frederick  and  Voltaire.  In  the  concert 
room,  where  Frederick  was  wont  to  play  on  the 
flute  and  where  Emmanuel  Bach  would  play 
on  the  spinet  is  seen  the  clock  which  was  habitu- 
ally wound  by  Frederick.  It  is  now  stopped. 
The  hands  point  to  2.20.  It  is  said  that  it 
stopped  at  this  hour  on  the  morning  of  August 
17,  1786,  when  the  soul  of  the  great  Frederick 
left  its  earthly  tabernacle. 

Once  more  we  emerge  into  the  park  and  the 
sunshine.  The  faithful  greyhounds  of  Freder- 
ick are  buried  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  terrace. 
It  is  said  that  he  himself  desired  to  be  buried 
here  at  the  base  of  the  statue  of  Flora  and  that 
he  said:  "Quand  je  serai  la,  je  serai  sans  souci." 
(When  I  shall  lie  there,  I  shall  be  free  of  care.) 
He  lies  buried  at  the  Garrison  Church  in  Pots- 
dam. 

We  descended  to  the  fountain,  once  more 
to  enjoy  the  long  vistas  and  the  rainbows.  As 
we  stand  here  back  of  us  to  the  west  is  the 
obelisk  and  in  front  of  us  to  the  east  the  New 
Palace.  We  went  through  this  palace  under 
the  supervision  of  a  guide.  The  room,  dec- 

[106] 


THE    VALUE    OF    PARKS 

orated  with  shells  and  precious  stones,  is  cer- 
tainly unique.  Here  are  large  pieces  of  ame- 
thyst, malachite,  diamonds,  large  pearls  and 
other  precious  stones. 

This  surely  is  a  wonderful  park.  It  is  for- 
tunate for  a  people  to  possess  such  a  park  in 
the  vicinity  of  its  capital.  While  the  Germans 
are  taking  an  outing  as  they  come  either  from 
Berlin  or  other  parts  of  the  empire,  they  can 
drink  in  German  history  and  patriotism  with 
the  very  air  they  breathe.  A  park  of  this  type 
is  a  contribution  at  once  to  the  health  and  ideals 
of  the  people. 

The  same  thing  can  be  said  of  Versailles. 
What  a  place  of  wonderful  historical  signifi- 
cance! This  is  the  birthplace  of  democracy  in 
the  old  world.  Here  was  ushered  in,  in  fact, 
the  modern  world.  Since  the  French  Revolution 
democracy  in  the  institutions  of  church  and  state 
has  been  largely  actualized.  Here  the  national 
assembly  met.  Here  its  members  were  denied 
the  privilege  of  sitting  with  the  representatives  of 
the  nobility  and  the  church.  Here  was  heard  the 
cry  of  the  people  at  large  that  had  suffered  from 
tyrannies  too  long.  Here  the  national  assembly 
was  formed.  Not  far  from  this  splendid  palace 
did  these  representatives  meet  in  a  tennis  court  to 
take  an  oath  never  to  separate  until  they  had 
given  France  a  constitution.  And  as  the  present 
inscription  over  the  door  has  it:  "Us  ont  tenu 

[107] 


MODERN    CITIES 

parole."  (They  kept  their  word.)  Here  are 
the  splendors  of  art  and  nature.  Near  the 
palace  is  the  Petit  Trianon  where  the  beautiful 
and  visionary  Marie  Antoinette  played  at  peas- 
ant life,  and  not  far  distant  are  the  little  Swiss 
cottages  where  live  cows,  and  actual  churns 
had  been  substituted  for  the  dolls  of  child- 
hood. 

Here  lived  her  husband,  incapable  and  not 
imperious,  and  here  be  it  said  in  all  fairness 
both  Marie  Antoinette  and  Louis  XVI  became 
the  victims  of  an  evolution  in  modern  society 
which  they  could  not  control  and  were  more 
sinned  against  than  sinning.  Even  wiser  heads 
and  more  capable  governors  might  have  fared 
as  badly.  The  time  had  come.  Tyranny  had 
been  pushed  to  extremes.  Versailles  is  indeed 
a  name  to  be  conjured  with.  Once  the  capital 
of  France,  it  is  the  place  where  treaties  of  peace 
between  England  and  the  new-born  American 
republic  and  between  Germany  and  France 
were  signed.  Here  is  a  gorgeous  palace,  with 
magnificent  works  of  art  showing  the  history  of 
France  in  visible  form,  here  are  the  rooms  of 
Marie  Antoinette  and  Madame  de  Maintenon; 
here  is  Lebrun's  famous  picture  of  Marie  and 
her  children  and  Ponce's  Napoleon  at  the  tomb 
of  Frederick  the  Great.  Here  are  the  chambre 
des  glaces  and  other  splendid  rooms  manifesting 

[  108  ] 


THE    VALUE    OF   PARKS 

a  wealth  of  art  and  taste  and  elaborate  works 
from  the  sculptor's  chisel. 

We  shall  never  forget  the  day  of  our  visit 
there — the  fine  lakes,  the  splendid  walks,  the 
beautiful  flowers,  the  wonderful  associations! 
In  other  places  where  is  is  impossible  to  get 
such  historical  values,  for  history  cannot  be 
bought  for  money,  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to 
establish  museums.  This  has  been  done  in  New 
York.  The  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  is  in 
Central  Park  and  the  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory is  not  far  away.  By  this  method  we  have 
been  able  to  combine  nature  and  art  in  a  very 
beneficial  way  to  the  public. 

The  tendency  in  parks  nowadays  is  to  have 
small  parks  at  easy  distances  from  each  sec- 
tion of  the  city,  and  this  is  very  commendable. 
A  chain  of  parks  connected  with  splendid  drive- 
ways is  desirable.  And  as  we  have  suggested 
before,  parking  should  be  carried  extensively 
into  streets.  But  after  all,  we  hope,  that  the 
notion  of  one  great  park  for  each  city  of  con- 
siderable size  will  never  die  out.  Human  beings 
need  a  place  where  they  can  lose  themselves, 
some  place  in  which  they  will  feel  that  they 
are  cut  away  entirely  from  this  workaday 
world.  We  certainly  need  parks  of  artistic 
and  historic  interest  like  those  of  Sans  Souci 
and  Versailles. 

[109] 


HARBOR    DEVELOPMENT — THE    PORT    OF    GENOA 

HARBORS  and  docks  are  of  incalculable  value 
to  the  modern  city.  Civilization  has  no  more 
effective  instrument  than  navigation;  this  form 
of  transportation  is  impossible  without  har- 
borage. The  ships  that  go  down  to  the  sea,  the 
boats  that  ply  our  rivers  are  laden  with  all  sorts 
of  things  for  man's  necessity  and  comfort;  they 
are  the  messengers  of  commerce.  They  are  also 
instruments  for  the  higher  relationships  of  hu- 
man beings.  They  afford  opportunities  for 
travel,  enabling  one  part  of  the  world  to  benefit 
by  the  customs,  habits  and  civilization  of  an- 
other. They  have  made  exploration  possible,  so 
that  men  like  Columbus  have  given  us  new 
worlds  and  thereby  new  stages  for  the  wonder- 
ful drama  of  human  life.  They  will  give  dif- 
ferent nations  a  better  understanding  of  each 
other,  enabling  them  to  live  by  cooperation  and 
to  do  away  with  racial  hatred  and  distrust  and 
make  it  unnecessary  to  send  boats  from  harbors 
laden  with  engines  of  destruction.  In  fine, 
navigation  is  one  of  the  supreme  constructive 

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35 


HARBOR   DEVELOPMENT 

forces  of  humanity  because  it  enables  different 
nations  to  exchange  their  achievements  in  things 
material,  intellectual,  esthetic  and  moral.  Har- 
bors and  docks  are  simply  the  conveniences  at 
the  terminals  for  the  loading  and  unloading  of 
vessels  with  promptitude,  efficiency  and  safety. 

How  important  they  are  to  cities  can  be  seen 
from  the  fact  that  so  many  cities  have  been 
built  where  there  are  facilities  for  navigation. 

It  is  evident  that  municipalities  should  have 
entire  control  of  harbors  and  their  docking  fa- 
cilities, for  thus  only  can  they  avert  a  form 
of  monopoly  detrimental  to  their  economic  de- 
velopment. A  study  of  the  port  of  Genoa  is 
suggestive  of  what  can  be  accomplished  in  har- 
bor development,  of  the  far-reaching  value  of 
such  -a  port  and  especially  of  the  inspiring  ex- 
ample of  the  initiative  of  a  splendid  citizen. 

On  the  30th  of  June,  1910,  the  Consul  Gen- 
eral of  the  United  States  in  Genoa  gave  us  a 
letter  of  introduction  to  the  Prefect  of  Genoa, 
asking  him  kindly  to  assist  us  in  our  investiga- 
tions and  to  put  in  our  hands  all  the  statistical 
information  we  might  require. 

The  next  morning,  July  1st,  was  one  of 
charm  under  an  ideal  Italian  sky.  We  called 
upon  the  Prefect,  who  received  us  very  cordially 
and  gave  us  letters  of  introduction  to  the  com- 
missioner of  the  prefecture,  to  the  president  of 
the  Consorzio  (autonomous  harbor  board)  of  the 

[in] 


MODERN    CITIES 

port  of  Genoa  and  to  the  president  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Genoa.  Each  of 
these  letters  stated  our  mission,  viz. :  to  visit  the 
principal  cities  of  Europe  with  a  view  to  study- 
ing the  different  branches  of  their  administra- 
tion, and  asked  officials  to  give  us  all  possible 
information  and  direct  us  to  such  offices  in  their 
departments  as  would  furnish  us  with  the  neces- 
sary facts. 

The  next  day  found  us  in  the  Palace  of  St. 
George  (Palazzo  di  San  Giorgio).  We  were 
ushered  into  the  room  of  the  president  of  the 
Consorzio,  a  magnificent  chamber,  "spacious 
and  solemn,"  with  a  colored  marble  floor  in  the 
center  of  which  is  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Con- 
sorzio. These  palaces  lend  themselves  admir- 
ably to  commercial  interests.  They  crown  busi- 
ness with  esthetic  ideals.  The  president,  Nino 
Ronco,  received  us  with  the  same  hearty  cor- 
diality we  had  met  everywhere  in  Genoa.  He 
called  for  Cesare  Festa,  the  head  of  the  com- 
mercial department  of  the  port  and  the  au- 
thor of  a  Guide  to  the  Port l  and  introduced 
us  to  him.  He  also  directed  him  to  have  a 
steamer  in  readiness  and  see  to  it  that  we  might 
examine  the  port  in  all  its  departments  as 
carefully  as  we  wished.  We  left,  expressing  our 
profound  gratefulness  for  this  extreme  kind- 

1Guida  del  Porta  di  Geneva.  II.  Edizione  Italiana, 
1910. 

[112] 


HARBOR   DEVELOPMENT 

ness.  He  had  made  it  possible  for  us  to  ex- 
amine, with  the  aid  of  an  expert,  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  harbors  of  the  world. 

But  before  we  proceed  on  this  journey,  it 
will  be  well  to  glance  briefly  at  the  history  of 
this  port.  Here  was  a  natural  harbor,  but  it 
was  in  the  eleventh  century  in  all  probability 
that  man  began  to  improve  it.  In  1283  the 
most  decisive  steps  were  taken  in  the  history  of 
the  port  when  Marino  Boccanegro  constructed 
in  permanent  form  the  Molo  Vecchio  (the  old 
mole).  Between  1300  and  1553  extensions  of 
the  Molo  Vecchio  were  made,  and  in  1553  many 
significant  improvements.  Until  1631  the  only 
shelter  of  the  port  was  the  Molo  Vecchio.  The 
shipping  traffic  was  already  heavy,  but  an  ear- 
lier date  first  demands  our  attention. 

On  the  llth  of  November,  1613,  a  terrific  hur- 
ricane swept  over  the  port  causing  awful  destruc- 
tion; this  hurricane  is  still  celebrated  for  its  vio- 
lence. All  vessels  except  three  were  destroyed. 
Then  a  committee  was  appointed  to  see  what 
could  be  done  to  avoid  another  such  catastrophe. 
A  design  by  Ansaldo  Demari  called  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  new  mole  (Molo  Nuovo),  but  the 
republic  could  not  afford  the  entire  cost,  where- 
upon the  bank  of  San  Giorgio  (St.  George)  de- 
cided to  advance  the  deficiency.  On  May  22, 
1638,  with  much  pomp  and  ceremony,  the  first 
stone  of  the  Molo  Nuovo  was  laid.  For  greater 

[113] 


MODERN    CITIES 

protection  this  mole  was  lengthened  several 
times;  that  is  to  say,  in  1728,  1738  and  1777. 
During  the  Napoleonic  regime,  many  projects 
were  on  foot  for  the  extension  of  the  Molo 
Nuovo,  but  owing  to  political  disturbances  they 
were  not  carried  into  effect. 

On  December  25,  1821,  another  destructive 
hurricane  submerged  or  damaged  forty  vessels. 
The  supporting  walls  of  the  port  were  also 
seriously  damaged.  This  called  for  a  further 
extension  of  the  Molo  Vecchio.  Subsequent 
hurricanes,  especially  one  in  1843,  impelled  the 
Genoese  to  protect  the  harbor  still  further  by 
extending  the  Molo  Nuovo.  This  was  done  to 
the  extent  of  the  possibilities  of  the  public  purse 
between  1846  and  1850. 

After  all  these  improvements,  the  Maritime 
Association,  in  1850-51,  solicited  a  new  pro- 
longation of  the  Molo  Nuovo  to  the  extent  of 
350  meters.  An  investigation  conducted  by  the 
government  revealed  the  fact  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  prolong  the  mole  450  meters  at  a  cost 
of  four  million  lire.  Once  more  the  public 
treasury  could  not  bear  the  strain.  But  an 
extension  of  150  meters  was  carried  out  between 
1856  and  1862.  Many  other  improvements 
were  effected  in  the  same  period.  The  remain- 
ing 300  meters  were  added  to  the  Molo  Nuovo 
in  1868. 

While  these  works  were  being  prosecuted  it 

[114] 


HARBOR   DEVELOPMENT 

became  apparent  that  some  scheme  for  a  sys- 
tematic development  of  the  port,  anticipating 
its  needs  for  half  a  century,  should  be  framed. 
Then  something  happened  in  1875  that  the 
Genoese  will  never  forget.  The  Duke  of  Gal- 
liera — Raffaele  De  Farrari — offered  twenty 
million  lire  1  for  the  systematic  improvement  of 
the  port  according  to  a  plan  which  should  be 
satisfactory  to  both  government  and  himself, 
and  the  generous  offer  was  enthusiastically  ac- 
cepted. The  port  thereafter  became  one  of  the 
most  important  centers  of  navigation  in  Europe. 
No  expense  was  spared.  The  Genoese  doubled 
the  gift  of  the  generous  duke.  When  the  im- 
provements were  finished,  the  total  expendi- 
ture had  reached  about  sixty-three  million 
lire.2 

The  effect  of  these  improvements  was  to  add 
an  arm  to  the  Molo  Nuovo  on  the  east,  extend- 
ing therefrom  in  a  southerly  and  westerly  di- 
rection, for  a  distance  of  657  meters,  very 
properly  called  Molo  Duca  di  Galliera,  and 
another  mole  from  the  land  side  to  supplement 

1  The  value  of  the  lire  is  19.3  cents.     The  gift  amounted 
to  $4,000,000  in  round  numbers. 

2  (1)   Strictly   maritime   works    33,245,035  lire 

(2)  Incidental  work   18,588,94? 

(3)  Work  on  railroads  of  port 11,000,000    ' 


Total 62,833,982  lire 

[115] 


MODERN    CITIES 

it,  the  Molo  Giano,  extending  out  595  meters. 
In  addition  to  these  two  moles  were  numerous 
other  works,  of  course,  incidental  to  the  en- 
largement of  the  facilities  of  the  port. 

Thus  it  would  seem  that  the  present  splen- 
didly equipped  port,  with  its  ample  protection 
for  vessels,  is  the  result  of  adversity  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  munificent  generosity  of  one  man 
with  exceptional  civic  spirit  on  the  other.  What 
a  fine  example  to  those  who  wish  to  serve  our 
municipalities  and  thus  render  the  most  prac- 
tical aid  to  the  common  weal!  The  hurricane 
became  an  educator  to  the  constructors  of  the 
harbor  and  the  Duke  of  Galliera  the  financial 
inspiration.  At  present,  any  ship  lying  within 
the  embrace  of  the  great  moles  of  this  harbor 
can  defy  the  most  violent  sirocco. 

The  Consorzio,  or  autonomous  harbor  board, 
is  an  organization  for  continuing  operations  un- 
der present  provisions  of  the  law  for  sixty 
years  from  1903.  Its  functions  are  the  admin- 
istration of  funds  and  revenues,  operation, 
charge  of  construction  work,  making  regula- 
tions, running  railroads,  responsibility  for  the 
coordination  and  betterment  of  the  service,  con- 
duct of  the  military  service,  pilotage,  policing, 
penal  jurisdiction,  public  security,  care  of  sani- 
tation, the  customs,  and  in  fact  everything  that 
pertains  to  the  port. 

Five  members  of  the  Consorzio  represent  the 
[116] 


HARBOR   DEVELOPMENT 

state.  Representing  the  provinces  are  one  dele- 
gate for  Genoa  and  one  for  each  other  province 
which  shares  in  the  expense  of  the  port  to  the 
extent  of  not  less  than  eighty-thousandths  of  the 
contribution  annually  imposed  upon  all  prov- 
inces. 

The  communes  are  also  represented.  That 
of  Genoa  by  the  mayor  of  Genoa,  an  engineer 
appointed  by  the  communal  council  of  Genoa 
from  the  college  of  engineers  and  architects  of 
Genoa,  or  from  the  college  of  the  naval  and 
mechanical  engineers  of  Italy.  A  representa- 
tive can  be  sent  from  each  commune  which  bears 
expense  for  the  port,  at  the  ratio  of  thirty- 
thousandths  of  the  total  annual  contributions 
of  the  communes.  The  chamber  of  commerce 
and  arts  of  Genoa  is  represented  by  its  presi- 
dent and  two  others.  The  railroad  service  is 
represented  by  two  of  its  superior  officers.  In 
addition  there  is  one  delegate  from  each  of  the 
chambers  of  commerce  of  Milan  and  Turin  and 
two  delegates  represent  the  labor  of  the  port. 
Thus  the  Consorzio  becomes  both  democratic 
and  expert  in  its  composition. 

The  Palace  of  St.  George,  which  was  pro- 
cured for  the  headquarters  of  the  Consorzio  in 
1903,  is  a  noble  and  historical  building.  It  has 
an  imposing  fa9ade  overlooking  the  bay,  with 
a  painting  of  St.  George  killing  the  dragon  in 
the  upper  center.  Above  this  is  a  tower  contain- 

[H7] 


MODERN    CITIES 

ing  a  clock,  over  which  is  a  bell.  There  are  also 
statues  and  coats  of  arms  to  complete  the  deco- 
rations. The  Palace  lends  a  dignity  to  the 
management  of  this  great  port  and  accords  well 
with  its  importance  to  the  life  of  Genoa,  Italy 
and  the  world.  The  most  ancient  part  of  the 
Palace  was  erected  in  1260  for  Guglielmo  Boc- 
canegra,  head  of  the  military  forces  of  the  city. 
When  he  was  expelled  in  1262,  it  became  the 
seat  of  the  commune.  Tradition  has  it  that 
about  1278  Marco  Polo,  the  famous  navigator, 
was  imprisoned  here  by  the  Genoese.  It  was 
enlarged  several  times.  Later  it  was  used  as  a 
custom-house. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  all 
the  indebtedness  of  the  republic  of  Genoa  was 
owing  to  individuals.  This  created  such  con- 
fusion, that  it  was  determined  to  concentrate  the 
debt  in  one  society,  which  took  the  name  of  San 
Giorgio.  The  society  began  its  work  in  1408, 
securing  to  the  stockholders  7  per  cent  over  and 
above  1  per  cent  for  expenses.  The  republic  gave 
at  first  a  temporary  lease  of  the  property  to  the 
society,  but  in  1451  made  it  perpetual.  The  his- 
toric building  acquiring  the  name  of  Palazzo  di 
San  Giorgio.  In  1606  Tavarone  produced  the 
picture  on  the  facade  of  the  Palace  of  St.  George 
and  the  dragon.  This  great  bank  is  intimately 
connected  with  the  fortunes  of  Genoa,  its 
economic  and  political  history.  Its  usefulness 

[us] 


HARBOR   DEVELOPMENT 

ceased  during  the  French  supremacy  beginning 
in  1797.  For  a  time  after  this  Genoa  was 
attached  to  Sardinia  and  became  merged  into 
the  kingdom  of  Italy.  The  bank  of  San  Gior- 
gio never  resumed  operations. 

The  part  of  the  port  which  constitutes  its 
natural  base  forms  a  semicircle  about  1,500 
meters  in  diameter.  Taking  into  account  the 
areas  inclosed  by  the  moles,  it  comprises  en- 
trance ports  on  the  outside  of  the  system  proper 
—that  is,  the  basin  Victor  Emmanuele  III  and 
the  bay  of  Faro.  These  are  on  the  southerly 
side  of  the  Molo  Nuovo  and  are  formed  on  the 
easterly  side  by  the  southerly  extension  of  the 
Molo  Duca  di  Galliera  and  the  Molo  Giano 
which  extends  from  the  easterly  side  in  a 
southwesterly  direction,  to  meet  it.  Within 
this  enclosure  is  the  Avamporto  (the  fore- 
port)  of  the  Victor  Emmanuele,  and  farther 
north  beyond  the  Molo  Vecchio  is  the  port 
proper. 

The  semicircular  indentation  which  formed 
the  natural  harbor  was,  of  course,  open  toward 
the  Ligurian  Sea.  The  most  fearful  enemy, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  the  sirocco,  which  many 
times  has  swept  upon  the  port  and  brought  de- 
struction in  its  wake.  Southwesterly  winds 
rarely  attack  it  with  violence.  As  previously 
stated,  the  first  mole  erected  was  the  Molo  Vec- 
chio (Old  Mole),  but  this  as  a  defensive  means 

[HP] 


MODERN    CITIES 

has  been  supplanted.  The  port  is  now  pro- 
tected by  the  moles  Nuovo,  Galliera  and  Giano. 
The  Molo  Nuovo  is  610  meters  in  length,  the 
Molo  Galliera  657  meters  on  the  southerly  arm 
and  843  on  the  southeasterly.  The  construc- 
tion of  this  latter  great  mole  at  an  expense  of 
16,365,544  lire,  that  is  to  say,  10,910  lire  per 
linear  meter,  required  about  eleven  years  of 
constant  labor.  The  Mole  Giano  extends  west 
southwest  for  a  distance  of  595  meters.  It  cost 
2,100,148  lire,  or  an  average  of  3,530  lire  a  linear 
meter.  The  observation  tower  for  pilots  is 
located  here.  The  total  area  of  the  port  is  as 
follows : 

Sq.  Meters 

Water  surface 1,940,000 

Protruding  landings    546,000 

Maritime  railroad  stations    80,000 

Docks  for  construction,  calking,  etc 60,000 

Total  2,626,000 

The  depth  of  the  water  is  from  9  to  X3  meters 
in  the  shallower,  and  from  10  to  22  in  the 
deeper  parts.  In  fact  there  is  not  much  space 
with  a  depth  of  less  than  10  meters.  There  is 
an  admirable  system  of  zones  for  handling 
different  classes  of  merchandise.  Coal  is  chiefly 
handled  on  the  east,  on  the  Molo  Nuovo,  and 
the  two  piers  beyond  toward  the  north.  Follow- 
ing the  semicircle  around  toward  the  east, 

[120] 


HARBOR   DEVELOPMENT 

next  to  the  coal  section,  is  a  small  area  for 
landing  and  loading  metals,  although  most 
of  the  metals  are  handled  on  the  Molo  Vecchio 
and  the  Molo  Giano.  Then  comes  an  area  of 
great  interest  to  us — one  devoted  to  cotton.  In 
turn  come  zones  for  sundry  merchandise,  ce- 
reals, meats  and  other  refrigerator  products, 
salted  foods  and  edible  oils,  mineral  oils,  wines, 
etc. 

The  exports  are  a  little  more  than  one- 
seventh  of  the  imports  and  comprise  olive  oil, 
hemp,  flax,  rice,  fruit,  wine,  hats,  cheese,  steel, 
velvets,  gloves,  flour,  paper,  soap  and  marble. 
The  imports  are  coal,  50  per  cent,  grain  12 
per  cent,  cotton  6  per  cent,  machinery  and 
various  merchandise  32  per  cent.  Most  of  the 
coal  comes  from  the  British  Isles,  about  one- 
half  from  Cardiff  and  Barry,  one-tenth  from 
other  Welsh  ports,  and  one-fifth  from  the  Tyne 
ports. 

The  total  commercial  movements  of  the  port 
of  Genoa  for  ten  years,  that  is  to  say  between 
1899  and  1908  inclusive,  represented  56,394,935 
tons.  Of  these  25,582,041  tons  of  coal  and  22,- 
941,637  tons  of  general  merchandise  were  dis- 
embarked and  a  total  of  7,871,257  tons,  inclu- 
ding coal  and  general  merchandise,  were  ex- 
ported. The  total  imports  then  represented 
48,523,678  tons.  Taking  the  imports  in  round 
numbers  to  be  48,000,000  tons,  we  can  gain  the 

[121] 


MODERN    CITIES 

following  rough  notion  of  the  relative  commerce 

of  the  port: 

Tons. 

Cotton  imported   2,880,000 

Grain  imported 5,760,000 

Machinery  and  various  merchandise 15,360,000 

Coal    24,000,000 


Total 48,000,000 

The  progress  made  in  a  decade  can  be  seen 
in  the  fact  that  the  total  commercial  movements 
of  1899  were  5,076,398  tons  as  compared  with 
6,386,647  tons  in  1908.  It  is  also  interesting 
to  compare  with  this  the  complete  transactions 
of  the  port  for  1909: 

1.  Operating  Transactions. 

Number  of  days  of  labor  on  coal 586,279 

Number  of  days  of  labor  on  other  merchan- 
dise           439,382 


Total   1,525,661 

2.  Railroad  Transactions.  Tonnage. 

Number  of  cars  unloaded 92,710  663,028 

Number  of  cars  loaded 374,744  5,076,838 


Total   467,454  5,739,866 

3.  Maritime  Movements. 

Vessels  arrived.      6,915         Tonnage  capacity,  8,841,741 

Vessels  cleared.     6,635         Tonnage  capacity,  8,467,173 


Total 13,550  Total 17,308,914 

[122] 


HARBOR   DEVELOPMENT 

4.  Maritime  Commercial  Transactions. 

Tons. 

Disembarked  . . .  Coal    3,510,162 

Sundry  Merchandise.  .  . .   3,180,350 


6,690,512 
Embarked   920,652 


Total 7,611,164 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  with  this  the 
complete  operations  for  the  year  1876,  when  the 
Galliera  compact  was  made: 

Vessels  I  Sailin«   '•"    4>552          Tonnage 619,677 

(Steam    1,786         Tonnage 1,026,470 

6,338  1,646,147 

Merchandise  J  Disembarked    872,330 

Handled.    \  Embarked   61,443 


Total   953,773 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  number  of  vessels 
passing  through  the  port  have  been  doubled  in 
this  period  of  thirty-three  years.  The  total  ton- 
nage of  the  vessels  is  ten  times  as  large,  and 
the  merchandise  handled  has  increased  seven- 
fold. 

Now  for  the  journey.  Here  we  are  then  in 
a  snug  little  steamer  ready  to  examine  this 
wonderful  port.  We  had  entered  it  for  the 
first  time  a  few  dajrs  ago  as  we  came  from 
Naples  on  a  Lloyd-Italiano  liner,  and  the 
beauty  of  the  morning,  combined  with  the  won- 

[123] 


MODERN    CITIES 

derful  activity  of  the  port,  gave  us  emotions  of 
extreme  pleasure.  The  day  selected  for  our 
journey  was  just  as  ideal.  We  could  not  have 
seen  the  harbor  under  better  circumstances. 
Cesare  Festa  knew  every  nook  and  cranny  of 
it.  He  had  a  remarkable  soul  for  details. 
Every  piece  of  machinery,  every  building  and 
device,  was  not  only  familiar  to  him  but  he 
knew  its  history,  its  use,  and  efficiency.  We 
spent  four  hours  in  our  examination,  and  there 
were  very  few  things  that  escaped  our  notice. 

The  most  important  factor  in  the  fire  de- 
partment of  the  port  is  the  pump  barge  "San 
Giorgio."  It  is  constructed  of  sheets  of  galva- 
nized steel  and  is  considered  by  Signore  Festa 
not  only  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  up-to- 
date  pieces  of  machinery,  but  one  of  the  most 
rapid  steam-producers  found  anywhere  in  the 
ports  of  Europe.  We  boarded  this  barge  and  ex- 
amined it  carefully.  It  is  certainly  a  model  of 
expert  mechanical  engineering.  The  boat  is  21.35 
meters  long,  4.85  wide.  The  machinery  is  in 
the  center  of  the  boat,  separated  from  the  heat- 
ing plant  and  contains  all  that  is  necessary  for 
propulsion,  pumping  for  putting  out  fires  and 
other  purposes.  A  characteristic  of  the  boat  is 
that  the  machinery  and  heating  apparatus  are 
duplicated,  so  that  in  an  emergency  like  a  fire, 
if  a  part  of  one  set  gets  out  of  order  the  other 
can  be  immediately  started.  The  "Merry- 

[124] 


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i. 

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weather"  tubular  system  is  used  for  the  rapid 
production  of  steam;  it  furnishes  about  600 
horse-power  of  force,  and  is  capable  of  gener- 
ating steam  to  the  extent  of  eight  atmospheres  in 
about  ten  minutes.  The  boat  is  able  to  perform 
its  function  in  from  five  to  eight  minutes  from 
the  sounding  of  an  alarm.  The  pumps  for  fire 
purposes  are  of  the  "Greenwich  Gem"  type, 
after  the  horizontal  model;  each  one  of  these 
forces  about  10,000  liters  a  minute  to  the  height 
of  80  meters.  They  are  constructed  of  bronze 
from  old  cannon. 

Space  does  not  admit  of  describing  this  boat 
more  minutely,  but  what  has  been  said  will  give 
an  impression  of  the  merits  of  this  most  effective 
piece  of  machinery  for  the  protection  of  the 
great  wealth  represented  in  the  harbor  and 
warehouses.  The  compactness  of  it  all  im- 
pressed one  as  if  it  were  a  splendid  watch  rather 
than  a  pumping  machine. 

We  then  examined  the  dry  docks,  engine 
house  and  mechanical  devices  for  emptying  and 
filling  docks  with  water. 

We  landed  on  the  Molo  Nuovo  and  had  a 
vivid  impression  of  the  coal  industry  of  the 
port.  Here  were  vessels  from  England  with 
men  working  half  naked,  covered  with  perspira- 
tion and  coal  dirt,  inhaling  constantly  air  laden 
with  the  dust  which  surrounded  them  like  a 
cloud.  We  saw  them  in  the  act  of  carrying 

[125] 


MODERN    CITIES 

coal  bags  on  their  shoulders  in  transferring  coal 
from  barges  to  vessels.  Even  a  kitchen  fire  is 
gotten  at  some  sacrifice  of  human  life. 

The  port  is  well  equipped  with  systems  of 
cranes,  electric  elevators  and  hydraulic  devices, 
not  only  for  lifting  boats,  but  for  lifting  coal, 
iron,  cotton,  etc. 

Festa  has  given  a  complete  and  admirable 
description  of  the  whole  port  in  his  "Guida  del 
Porto  di  Geneva,"  and  if  any  one  cares  to  study 
the  activities  of  the  port  for  a  single  year  he 
may  consult  the  annual  reports  of  the  Consorzio. 
We  have  only  touched  upon  a  few  things  of 
general  interest.  We  were  deeply  impressed  by 
the  numerous  activities  of  the  port ;  for  example, 
92,710  cars  were  unloaded  and  374,744  were 
loaded  in  1909.  This  makes  the  total  number 
handled  by  the  railroads  467,454.  The  mer- 
chandise carried  in  them  equalled  5,739,866 
tons.  Forty  per  cent  of  all  the  commerce  of 
Italy,  it  is  computed,  passes  through  this  great 
port.  The  mechanical  devices  brought  into 
play,  the  two  dry  docks,  a  graving  dock  and  a 
floating  dry  dock,  the  Marconi  wireless  system 
on  the  Molo  Vecchio,  numerous  pontoons,  ware- 
houses and  industrial  sections  are  all  impressive, 
but  nothing  is  so  imposing  as  the  great  pro- 
tective moles  of  the  harbor.  As  we  stood  on 
the  Molo  di  Duca  Galliera  and  examined  the 
ponderous  walls  above  the  water  and  watched 


HARBOR   DEVELOPMENT 

the  turbulent  waves  of  the  Mediterranean 
thrown  carelessly  back  by  them,  we  were  moved 
to  emotions  by  the  dynamical  sublimity  of  the 
sea. 

Here  is  a  port  whose  eventful  history  is 
practically  that  of  modern  maritime  Italy.  It 
has  seen  the  rise  and  fall  of  civilizations  and 
governments.  It  has  witnessed  storm,  trag- 
edy, conquest,  and  generation  after  generation 
of  human  effort,  but  nothing  sublimer  ever  hap- 
pened in  its  history  than  the  contribution  by 
one  citizen,  the  Duke  of  Galliera,  of  twenty  mil- 
lion lire  for  the  construction  of  a  protective 
system  of  improvements  for  the  port,  for  this 
shows  the  way  to  a  civic  spirit  of  the  future 
through  which  governments  and  individuals  will 
cooperate  to  build  up  nobler  cities  for  physical 
bases  of  a  better  humanity. 


[127] 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

"The  comparative  death-rate  is  an  index  of  the  relative 
civilization  of  countries" — MAYO-SMITH. 

No  phase  of  the  study  of  municipal  prog- 
ress gives  rise  to  more  optimism  than  that 
of  the  city's  triumph  over  death.  Nothing  speaks 
so  distinctly  of  our  advance  in  civilization  as 
the  lessening  of  death-rates.  Everywhere,  dur- 
ing the  past  fifteen  years,  there  has  been  a  re- 
markable lowering  of  death-rates.  The  reduc- 
tion has  been  greater  in  cities  than  in  rural 
communities,  and  in  some  cities  much  more 
marked  than  in  others.  Mayo- Smith,  writing 
in  1894  of  European  cities,  cites  for  the  years 
1880-85  the  following  as  examples  of  low  death- 
rates:  Frankfort,  19.7;  Hanover,  21.9;  Stutt- 
gart, 23.5;  Leipzig,  24.1,  and  Berlin,  27.8.  It 
was  true  that  these  cities  made  a  more  favor- 
able showing  than  many  other  German  cities, 
but  the  lowest  rate  mentioned  would  seem 
abnormal  for  most  German  cities  to-day.  In 
1890  a  rate  under  20  per  thousand  was  ex- 
ceptional. Few  cities  in  either  America  or 
Europe  could  boast  of  so  favorable  a  rate! 
Now  a  death-rate  as  high  as  20  per  thousand 

,[128] 


CONSERVATION   OF  HUMAN   LIFE 


calls  for  an  explanation!  A  glance  at  the  ac- 
companying table  (No.  1)  of  the  death-rates 
of  leading  cities  in  various  countries  from  1881 

to  1909  will  show  the  truth  of  the  foregoing 
generalizations. 

TABLE  i 

Decline  of  Death-Rates  of  Leading  Cities  in  Various 

Nations1 
Cities  of  Germany 

1881  1886  1891  1896  1901  1906 

to  to  to  to  to  to 

1885        1890        1895  1900  1905  1909 

Berlin    ....................  26.5        22.4        20.5  18.1  17.0  15.4 

Hamburg    .................  25.2        25.3        24.2  17.3  16.3  15.0 

Dresden  "  ..................  25.0         22.1        20.6  19.0  17.6  14.» 

Munich    ...................  30.4        28.3        25.8  23.9  21.0  17.9 

Breslau  ..................  31.3  28.8  27.4  25.0  23.7  21.1 

Cities  of  the  British  Isles 

London    ...................  20.9        19.7        18.8  18.5  16.1  14.4 

Edinburgh    ................  19.6        19.7        19.7  19.0  17.3  15.7 

Glasgow    ..................  26.0        23.1        22.8  21.2  19.5  17.9 

Dublin    ....................  30.6        29.5        28.8  28.9  24.9  23.5 

Belfast    ...................  24.7        24.4        25.1  23.4  20.8  19.8 

Cities  of  the  Netherlands 

Amsterdam    ...............   25.1         22.4        19.2  16.7  14.7  13.3 

Rotterdam   ..............  24.2        22.0        20.8  18.0  15.6  13.9 

The  Hague   ...............   23.3         20.8        18.7  16.2  14.4  13.5 

Cities  of  Italy 

Rome    .                                  ..  26.8        25.9        21.4  18.1  19.8  18.7 

Milan    .               .............  30.3        30.4        27.4  23.2  22.1  20.1 

Turin    .                                    ..  27.2        23.5        21.6  19.8  19.6  18.1 

Venice   ...  ..................  28.3        28.0        25.1  22.8  22.2  21.3 

Other  European  Cities 

Paris                                      ..  24.4        23.0        21.2  19.2  18.  17.7 

Brussels    .                            ...23.4        21.2        20.2  17.2  15.2  14.2 

Vienna    .                               ...  28.2        25.1        24.1  21.1  19.1  17.3 

Prague                                      .  32.7        29.6        27.1  24.4  22.6  19.6 

Budapest    .                  .......  31.5         30.8        25.5  21.6  19.8  19.4 

Copenhagen     ..............  22.3        22.3        20.2 

SSHSSt  •:::::::::::::::  fli    Si    ft,      |  :  | 

::::::::::  II!    is6:!    il:i  1!:?  ii:l  ftl 

Cities  of  the  United  States 

Hi    S    Iti  8:1  !!:!  il:J 

;;;:!  ai  &•  as  as  as  a* 

'From  Annual  Summary  of  Registrar-General  of  England  and 
Wales,  1910. 

[129] 


MODERN   CITIES 

Later  statistics  for  some  of  these  cities  show 
a  still  further  reduction.  In  1912,  several  large 
cities  in  America  had  rates  below  15  per  thou- 
sand. In  the  above  table,  cities  of  the  Nether- 
lands, in  the  period  1906-1909,  have  the  lowest 
rates,  although  several  cities  of  other  countries 
are  not  far  behind.  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow 
make  an  unfavorable  showing,  due  probably  to 
the  extreme  poverty  of  the  lower  classes  in  these 
cities.  London,  Paris,  Berlin  and  Chicago  have 
made  wonderful  gains  since  1885.  The  low  rate 
of  London  speaks  volumes  for  the  sanitary  ad- 
ministration of  that  great  metropolis. 

The  significance  of  the  gain  to  humanity  in 
this  lowering  of  the  death-rate  becomes  evident 
when  we  analyze  the  effect  of  such  reduction  in 
the  death-rate  in  a  single  city.  Take,  for  ex- 
ample, Munich.  This  now  splendid  city  was 
at  one  time  an  impoverished  and  unhealthy  com- 
munity. In  1871,  the  year  of  the  establishment 
of  the  German  Empire,  Munich  had  a  popula- 
tion of  about  167,000.  Its  death-rate  was  41.6. 
At  that  time  the  city  had  no  waterworks  sys- 
tem and  no  sewer  system  connected  with  houses. 
Water  was  obtained  from  wells  and  ordinary 
earth  closets  were  in  use.  Only  one  public  bath 
was  owned  by  the  city  and  only  scanty  hospital 
facilities  were  available.  In  1873  cholera  swept 
over  the  city  and  the  death-rate  rose  to  43.6. 
This  calamity  had  the  effect  of  making  the  peo- 

[130] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

pie  somewhat  more  careful,  and  a  decline  in 
the  death-rate  followed.  In  1875  the  rate  was 
36.4;  in  1880,  34.7;  in  1885,  29.1;  in  1890,  27; 
in  1895,  25.8;  in  1900,  25.1;  in  1905,  20.1,  and 
in  1908,  17.9.  In  thirty-five  years  the  death- 
rate  was  thus  reduced  more  than  one-half.  In 
1908  the  total  number  of  deaths  in  the  city  was 
10,055.  Had  the  death-rate  been  the  same  as  in 
1871,  the  number  would  have  been  23,340. 
When  we  take  into  consideration  the  economic 
loss  involved  in  death,  the  pain  and  anguish, 
the  broken  homes  and  the  social  loss,  we  can 
partly  realize  what  is  meant  by  saving  the  lives 
of  13,000  people  each  year.  These  lives,  how- 
ever, are  not  the  whole  gain.  A  decreased 
death-rate  means  a  greatly  decreased  morbidity- 
rate.  The  saving  in  sickness  is  probably  even 
greater  than  in  deaths. 

Dr.  Fiack,  the  eminent  statistician  of  Munich, 
has  analyzed  the  death-rate  of  that  city  for  over 
thirty  years  and  has  published  a  table  (No.  2) 
giving  the  rates  of  different  age-groups  in  suc- 
cessive years,  the  rate  in  each  case  being  based 
on  1,000  of  the  same  age-group.  The  table 
shows  that  in  the  years  1876-80  the  average 
death-rate  of  children  under  two  years  of  age 
was  649.4  per  1,000.  In  1908  it  was  reduced  to 
249.2  per  1,000.  The  annual  death-rate  of  chil- 
dren, from  two  to  five  years  of  age  inclusive, 
was  52.1  in  the  first  period  and  only  16.1  in 

[131] 


MODERN    CITIES 


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[1S£] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

1908.  In  other  age-groups  differences  in  rate 
are  not  quite  so  remarkable,  but  it  is  noteworthy 
that  a  distinct  gain  was  made  in  every  age- 
group.  This  indicates  that  the  contention  that 
a  high  infant  mortality-rate  tends  to  produce 
a  hardier  race  has  little  weight. 

Dr.  Arthur  Newsholme,  medical  officer  of  the 
local  government  board  of  England,  in  his 
1909-10  report  on  "Infant  and  Child  Mor- 
tality," arrives  at  a  similar  conclusion.  He 
says: 

"A  heavy  infant  mortality  implies  a  heavier  death-rate 
up  to  five  years  of  age ;  and  right  up  to  adult  life  the  dis- 
tricts suffering  from  a  heavy  child  mortality  have  higher 
death-rates  than  the  districts  whose  infant  mortality  is  low. 

"A  careful  study  of  the  death-rate  of  England  and  Wales 
during  the  last  fifty  years,  at  each  of  the  first  five  years 
of  life,  leaves  it  doubtful  whether  any  appreciably  greater 
selection  or  'weeding  out'  is  exercised  by  a  heavier  than  by 
a  lighter  infant  mortality.  Any  such  effect,  if  it  exists,  is 
concealed  behind  the  overwhelming  influence  exerted  by 
the  evil  environment  to  which  children  are  exposed  in  dis- 
tricts of  high  infant  mortality.  It  is  strictly  correct,  there- 
fore, to  say  that  a  high  infant  mortality  implies  a  high 
prevalence  of  the  conditions  which  determine  national  in- 
feriority." 

Berlin's  history  with  respect  to  mortality  is 
similar  to  that  of  Munich,  although  its  gain 
since  1870  has  not  been  quite  as  remarkable. 
As  the  records  of  Berlin  have  been  carefully 
kept  since  1721,  we  have  a  basis  of  comparison 

[133] 


of  rates  covering  nearly  two  centuries.  The 
city's  advance  in  civilization  is  clearly  indicated 
in  Table  3. 

TABLE  3 

Death-Rates  in  Berlin,  1721-1909 

Average  Average 

Period  annual  Period  annual 

death-rate  death-rate 

1721-1730 40.65  1821-1830 29.53 

1731-1740 44.68  1831-1840 31.70 

1741-1750 37.95  1841-1850 27.16 

1751-1760 40.48  1851-1860 27.32 

1761-1770 37.45  1861-1870 31.89 

1771-1780 40.08  1871-1880 32.71 

1781-1790 35.64  1881-1890 25.84 

1791-1800 34.87  1891-1900 20.29 

1801-1810 41.27  1901-1905 17.94 

1811-1820 31.88  1906-1909 15.45 

The  present  death-rate  of  Berlin  is  only 
about  one-third  as  great  as  the  average  rate 
from  1731  to  1740.  It  should  also  be  noted 
that,  while  there  were  variations  in  rate  from 
decade  to  decade,  very  little  permanent  gain 
was  made  prior  to  1880.  Since  that  time,  the 
decline  in  the  rate  has  been  both  rapid  and 
permanent.  That  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  gain  of  the  past  three  decades  has  been 
due  to  the  saving  of  infant  life,  is  shown  by 
Table  4. 

[134] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

TABLE  4 

Death-itates  in  Berlin  of  Children  During  the  First 
Year  of  Life,  1882-1907 

Tear  Deaths  in  1,000  Year  Deaths  in  1.000 

children  born  children  born 

1882 305.32  1895 273.87 

1883 325.87  1896 243.39 

1884 319.84  1897 247.64 

1885 292.08  1898 239.75 

1886 324.03  1899 260.13 

1887 *  1900 266.45 

1888 *  1901 257.97 

1889 *  1902 214.86 

1890 282.31  1903 227.60 

1891 275.36  1904 235.24 

1892 261.61  1905 239.27 

1893 276.54  1906 213.96 

1894 248.82  1907 196.73 

In  1883,  no  less  than  325  of  every  1,000 
children  born  in  Berlin  died  within  one  year 
from  birth.  In  1907  the  number  dying  in  each 
1,000  born  had  been  reduced  to  196,  or  forty 
per  cent  in  24  years.  The  limit  of  progress 
along  this  line  is  still  far  from  being  reached. 

The  experience  of  Munich  and  Berlin  is  the 
experience  of  every  progressive  city  in  Europe 
and  America.  Figures  vary  for  reasons  that 
we  shall  point  out  later,  but  everywhere  people 
are  learning  that  human  life  is  worth  conserving 
and  can  be  conserved.  Everywhere  society  is 

*  Data  not  available. 
[135] 


MODERN    CITIES 

making  a  conscious  effort  to  rid  itself  of  the 
agencies  that  destroy  life  and  to  foster  those 
that  give  and  maintain  life. 

Comparing  the  gain  in  the  reduction  of  rates 
in  cities  with  that  in  countries  as  a  whole,  we 
find  that  the  progress  made  in  the  cities  is  much 
greater.  Table  5  indicates  the  change  in  rates 
for  several  European  countries  between  1891 
and  1908. 

TABLE  5 

Comparison  of  the  Death-Rates  of  European  Countries, 
1891  and  1908 

1891  1908 

Hungary 33.1  26.3 

Austria 27.9  22.4 

Italy 26.2  22.2 

Germany 23.4  18.0 

France   22.6  19.0 

Belgium   21.0  16.5 

Switzerland   20.8  16.2 

Holland   20.7  14.1 

Scotland    20.7  16.1 

England  and  Wales 20.2  14.7 

Ireland   18.4  17.6 

Norway    17.5  14.1 

Sweden   16.8  14.9 

In  1891  the  large  cities  as  a  rule  had  higher 
death-rates  than  the  countries  in  which  they  were 
located.  At  the  present  time,  however,  the  re- 
verse is  true.  The  cities  have  responded  better 

[136] 


CONSERVATION  OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

to  the  demands  of  modern  science  and  are  ob- 
taining their  reward  in  better  health  and  longer 
life. 

Under  favorable  conditions  it  would  seem  that 
life  would  be  best  conserved  in  rural  sections 
where  there  is  abundant  opportunity  for  living 
in  the  open  air,  where  there  is  little  excitement 
and  comparative  freedom  from  contagious  dis- 
ease. The  country,  however,  often  lacks  ad- 
vantages that  are  enjoyed  by  the  city,  in  the 
way  of  prompt  medical  service,  efficient  sani- 
tary inspection,  and  well-equipped  hospitals. 
Moreover,  health  receives  more  consideration  in 
the  city  than  in  the  country  and  new  discoveries 
are  more  quickly  adopted. 

As  the  knowledge  of  sanitary  requirements 
becomes  more  general,  we  may  reasonably  ex- 
pect that  the  death-rate  among  the  same  age- 
groups  will  be  practically  uniform  in  the  same 
country  and  will  vary  but  little  in  different 
countries. 

The  statistical  bureau  of  Naples,  in  1909, 
made  a  compilation  of  mortality  rates  in  various 
parts  of  the  world,  including  as  separate  items 
deaths  caused  by  typhoid  fever  and  pulmonary 
tuberculosis.  As  these  two  diseases  are  now 
deemed  under  favorable  conditions  to  be  almost 
entirely  preventable,  the  following  figures 
(Table  No.  6),  taken  from  the  Naples  report 
are  of  great  interest. 

[137] 


MODERN    CITIES 

TABLE  6 

Table  Showing  Death-Rates  per  100,000  from  Pulmonary 

Tuberculosis  and  Typhoid  Fever  in  Cities  in 

Various  Parts  of  the  World,  1908 


City 

Death-rate 
per  100,000 

City 

Death-rate 
per  100,000 

Typhoid 
fever 

Pulmonary 
tuberculosis 

2* 

O  <o 

*  > 

p.0) 

r 

Pulmonary 
tuberculosis 

Italy: 
Rome   

24 
39 
13 
21 
6 

4 
20 
13 
21 

10 

8 
30 
4 
20 
121 

26 
24 
12 

3 
6 
24 

164 
225 
221 
208 
134 

275 

306 
384 
362 

149 

395 
416 
265 
280 
450 

174 
119 
200 

182 
158 
194 

Great   Britain: 
London  

5 
3 

5 

13 

2 
33 

78 

29 
100 

2 

3 
4 
7 
5 

134 
231 
300 

130 
218 
347 
260 

250 
214 

234 

300 
151 
268 
183 

Milan    

Belfast  

Turin    

Dublin    

Venice    

Netherlands: 
Amsterdam    

Naples    

Austria-Hungary  : 
Vienna  

Norway: 
Chris  tianiti    

Budapest   

Prague  

Rumania: 
Bucharest   

Trieste  

Belgium: 
Brussels    

Russia: 
St.  Petersburg  .... 

Spain: 
Madrid  

France: 
Paris   

Havre    

Lille  

Nancy   

Barcelona  

Rouen   

Sweden: 
Stockholm    

United  States: 
Boston   

Detroit   

Switzerland: 
Berne   

New  York  

Germany: 
Berlin    

Strasburg  

Zurich    

From  Table   6  we  note  that  the   cities  of 
Great   Britain,   Scandinavia   and    Switzerland, 

[138] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

have  practically  eliminated  typhoid  fever,  while 
in  Rouen,  St.  Petersburg  and  Barcelona  it  is 
still  a  prominent  factor  in  causing  death. 

Tuberculosis  is  everywhere  prevalent,  but  its 
ravages  are  much  less  deadly  in  some  cities 
than  in  others.  Detroit,  Amsterdam,  Brussels, 
Naples  and  London  all  show  a  low  death-rate 
from  this  dread  disease.  In  most  of  the  other 
cities  named  much  sanitary  work  still  remains  to 
be  done. 

A  detailed  comparison  of  death-rates  in 
Munich,  due  to  all  the  principal  diseases  from 
1867  to  1908,  was  published  in  the  1909  re- 
port of  the  statistical  bureau  of  that  city.  As 
the  facts  shown  are  of  great  value  and  as  sim- 
ilar data  covering  a  like  period  cannot  be  fur- 
nished by  any  American  city,  we  reproduce  the 
table  in  full. 

The  accompanying  table  (No.  7)  is  worthy 
of  careful  study.  It  indicates  clearly  the  great 
progress  that  Munich  has  made  in  checking  the 
ravages  of  preventable  diseases  as  well  as  the 
work  that  may  yet  be  done.  In  the  forty  years 
covered  by  the  table,  the  death-rate  from  pul- 
monary tuberculosis  has  been  cut  down  more 
than  one-half,  and  that  from  diseases  of  the 
digestive  organs  more  than  three-fourths.  The 
rate  from  cancer  and  from  accident  has  slightly 
increased,  but  otherwise  there  has  been  great 
gain. 

[139] 


MODERN    CITIES 


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[140] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 


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TMIJ" 


MODERN    CITIES 

If  Mayo- Smith  was  right  in  his  statement 
that  the  death-rate  is  an  index  of  civilization, 
then  we  may  accept  as  in  a  high  degree  of 
civilization  those  cities  that  have  a  low  death- 
rate.  Is  not  the  conservation  of  human  life 
in  reality  the  best  test  of  civilization? 

For  a  hundred  years  prior  to  1880,  the  cities 
of  Europe  in  matters  of  sanitation  had  been 
practically  at  a  standstill.  The  death-rate 
varied  from  thirty  to  forty,  according  to  the 
prevalence  of  war  and  epidemics,  and  the  peo- 
ple seemed  powerless  to  better  matters.  The 
situation  appeared  hopeless,  but  as  we  have 
seen,  science  came  to  the  rescue  and  the  new 
"city  of  health"  has  come  into  being.  As 
scientists  have  learned  little  by  little  how  to 
combat  the  deadly  onset  of  disease  germs  and 
how  to  secure  immunity  from  attack,  cities  have 
made  corresponding  improvements  in  their  san- 
itary regulations.  Not  all  cities  are  equally 
responsive  in  keeping  pace  with  scientific  ad- 
vancement, but  the  city  that  lives  up  to  its 
light  is  the  one  that  is  enjoying  the  highest 
degree  of  prosperity,  and  the  one  whose  citizens 
are  the  most  healthy. 

If  we  compare  the  up-to-date  city  of  to-day 
with  any  city  of  fifty  years  ago,  we  find  very 
remarkable  differences — differences  which  show 
the  wonderful  strides  we  have  made.  We  note 
the  most  significant  of  these  changes. 

[142] 


The  modern  city  is  clean.  While  some  cities 
are  more  clean  than  others,  all  are  clean  com- 
pared to  the  cities  of  fifty  years  ago.  Rough 
stone  block  and  cobble-stone  pavements  which 
could  not  be  well  cleaned  have  given  place  to 
asphalt,  smooth  stone  block,  wood  or  brick, 
which  can  be  washed  as  well  as  swept.  The 
old  practice  was  to  clean  the  street  when  the  dirt 
accumulated  to  such  an  extent  that  it  became 
an  obstruction  to  traffic.  Main  business  streets 
were  swept  once  or  possibly  twice  a  week  and 
other  streets  once  or  twice  a  month.  In  wet 
weather  a  layer  of  mud  covered  the  pavement 
and  in  dry,  a  layer  of  dust.  The  latter  on  windy 
days  was  lifted  into  the  air  and  carried  along 
the  street  or  into  buildings,  and  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent,  into  the  lungs  of  unfortunate  in- 
habitants. How  much  disease  and  death  has 
been  caused  by  such  dust  can  never  be  deter- 
mined, but  it  is  now  well  known  that  street  dust 
is  heavily  charged  with  germs,  many  of  which 
are  pathogenic,  and  it  is  probable  that  influenza, 
tuberculosis  and  common  colds  are  often  con- 
tracted by  breathing  dust-laden  air.  In  well- 
kept  cities  of  to-day  there  is  little  mud  or  dust. 
The  streets  of  the  busy  section  of  a  city  are 
washed  every  day  or  night;  even  during  the  day 
dirt  is  not  allowed  to  accumulate. 

When  a  city's  streets  are  kept  clean  the  first 
fitep  toward  municipal  cleanliness  has  been  at- 


MODERN    CITIES 

tained.  The  second  step  is  to  secure  clean 
houses  and  clean  yards.  This  work  is  neces- 
sarily in  part  private  and  in  part  municipal. 
Municipal  authorities  cannot  undertake  to 
"clean  house"  for  residents  of  houses.  It  may, 
however,  act  when  some  one  is  so  grossly  negli- 
gent that  his  house  becomes  a  menace  to  the 
neighborhood,  and  the  municipality  can  and 
should  provide  easy  means  for  the  disposal  of 
the  waste  of  households. 

It  is  remarkable  how  little  attention  was 
given  until  recent  years  to  the  sanitary  dis- 
posal of  waste.  Cities  have  had  sewers  for 
thousands  of  years.  At  first  sewers  were 
merely  drainage  pipes  to  carry  off  surface  water 
and  drain  the  soil;  later  they  were  connected 
with  waterworks  systems  and  received  waste 
water;  their  use  in  carrying  off  the  flushings 
of  water-closets  is  comparatively  new.  In  many 
old  cities  of  Europe  and  America  a  considerable 
number  of  houses  are  even  yet  without  sanitary 
water-closets.  Just  how  much  of  the  gain  in 
the  death-rate  we  can  attribute  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  this  sanitary  convenience  is  difficult  to 
determine.  We  may  be  certain,  however,  that 
it  has  been  a  factor  of  no  little  importance. 

While  the  sanitary  water-closet  is  now  recog- 
nized as  an  essential  part  of  every  home,  there 
is  no  general  agreement  as  to  the  best  methods 
of  disposing  of  various  forms  of  household 

[  144} 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

refuse.  Some  municipalities  have  a  separate 
collection  for  ashes,  garbage  and  other  rubbish, 
while  others  have  all  put  together  and  taken 
up  at  one  collection.  When  thus  collected  to- 
gether the  mass  is  usually  burned;  when  col- 
lected separately  ashes  are  used  for  filling  or 
grading;  garbage  is  treated  in  a  reduction  plant 
and  the  other  rubbish  is  sorted,  valuable  parts 
are  sold  and  the  rest  is  burned.  The  exact 
methods  employed  do  not  here  concern  us.  The 
significant  thing  is  that  the  modern  up-to-date 
city  is  now  disposing  of  its  household  waste  in 
a  clean  and  sanitary  manner.  The  city  as  a 
whole  is  thereby  made  cleaner  and  healthier  and 
households  are  enabled  to  rid  themselves  of  ma- 
terials, which  if  left  to  accumulate,  would 
become  intolerable  nuisances  and  menaces  to 
health.  With  a  few  possible  exceptions,  cities 
everywhere  fifty  years  ago  left  householders  to 
dispose  of  waste  as  they  saw  fit.  Naturally 
people  utilized  garbage  to  feed  cows  and  pigs 
and  distributed  ashes  in  their  gardens,  or  al- 
lowed them  to  be  carted  away  for  grading.  The 
refuse  from  many  stables  in  the  city  would  be 
carted  to  the  country  to  be  used  in  fertilizing 
the  soil.  As  the  cities  grew  these  primitive 
methods  became  intolerable  and  less  offensive 
means  of  disposing  of  refuse  were  introduced. 
The  keeping  of  pigs  and  cows  in  thickly  settled 
parts  of  large  cities  was  found  to  be  incom- 

[145] 


MODERN    CITIES 

patible  with  a  high  standard  of  cleanliness  and 
the  practice  was  discontinued.  The  keeping  of 
horses  was  continued  because  their  use  was 
deemed  indispensable.  The  past  decade,  how- 
ever, has  witnessed  the  rapid  displacement  of 
the  horse  by  the  automobile. 

The  modern  city  has  a  pure  water  supply. 
The  Romans  recognized  the  value  of  pure  water 
and  built  aqueducts  across  plains  to  hills  in 
order  to  furnish  cities  with  water  from  uncon- 
taminated  sources.  After  Rome  fell  aqueducts 
were  often  ruined  and  some  were  not  restored 
until  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century.  Rome, 
like  many  other  cities  of  Europe,  was  content 
to  use  for  hundreds  of  years  water  drawn  from 
wells  sunk  in  its  streets  or  from  the  river  into 
which  the  filth  of  the  city  drained.  Modern 
cities  have  filled  up  old  wells  and  constructed 
filters  to  purify  river  water  in  case  they  have 
been  obliged  to  use  it.  The  provision  for  and 
the  safeguarding  of  a  city's  water  supply  is 
now  the  most  sacred  duty  of  a  city  govern- 
ment. 

The  modern  city  procures  wholesome  food  for 
its  people.  While  the  purchase  and  sale  of  food 
are  usually  transactions  between  individuals,  the 
city  affords  the  means  of  distribution  and  regu- 
lates the  quality  of  the  food  sold.  The  up-to- 
date  city  maintains  a  laboratory  to  test  foods 
of  all  kinds  and  the  dealer  who  sells  goods  that 

[146] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

do  not  meet  the  requirements  of  the  statute  is 
fined  or  otherwise  punished.  Meats,  milk, 
butter  and  cheese  are  carefully  inspected  and 
any  article  unfit  for  consumption  is  not  per- 
mitted to  be  sold.  Perishable  goods  are  kept 
intact  by  cold  storage.  The  use  of  ice  in  homes, 
while  a  comparatively  new  departure,  is  of  the 
highest  importance  as  a  sanitary  measure.  The 
modern  refrigerator  has  practically  eliminated 
diseases  arising  from  the  presence  of  germs  and 
ptomaines  in  food. 

The  modern  city  has  sanitary  homes  and 
facilities  for  recreation.  As  these  matters  are 
fully  discussed  in  another  part  of  this  work, 
we  refer  to  them  here  only  to  emphasize  their 
importance  in  connection  with  the  lowering  of 
the  death-rate.  To  become  strong,  children 
must  have  a  good  place  to  play  and  a  good 
place  to  rest.  The  laborer  cannot  long  remain 
strong  and  healthy  if  the  comfort  of  a  good 
airy  room  in  which  he  can  sleep  is  denied  him. 
The  modern  city  aims  to  provide  these  simple 
necessities,  and  in  doing  so  lengthens  the  lives 
of  its  citizens. 

Most  of  the  sanitary  ideas  incorporated  in 
the  new  city  which  make  it  different  from  the 
old,  are  the  outgrowth  of  recently  acquired 
knowledge  of  bacteria. 

About  thirty-five  years  ago,  while  working 
in  his  laboratory  in  the  Sorbonne,  Louis  Pasteur 

[147] 


MODERN    CITIES 

laid  the  foundation  of  present  knowledge  of 
bacteria.  The  existence  of  micro-organisms  had 
been  known  for  many  years,  but  before  Pas- 
teur's discoveries  no  one  scarcely  dreamed  of 
the  influence  these  minute  germs  exert  on  hu- 
man welfare.  We  can  hardly  realize  the  fact 
that  within  the  present  generation  the  whole 
science  of  medicine  has  been  revolutionized  and 
the  new  science  of  sanitation  developed.  Med- 
ical books  written  before  1880  are  now  prac- 
tically worthless  and  old  methods  of  treating 
and  checking  contagious  diseases  have  been  dis- 
carded. 

Pasteur's  discovery  of  the  work  of  bacteria 
in  causing  disease  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest 
single  contribution  ever  made  to  human  wel- 
fare. No  other  factor  has  done  so  much  to 
conserve  human  life  and  none  has  been  so  in- 
strumental in  building  up  cities.  Before  the 
nature  of  contagious  and  infectious  diseases 
was  known,  people  looked  upon  an  epidemic  as 
a  visitation  of  the  Almighty  and  acknowledged 
themselves  helpless  in  its  presence.  When  an 
epidemic  broke  out  in  a  community  the  braver 
members  would  face  it,  while  the  more  cowardly 
would  flee  to  other  towns.  If  it  happened 
that  before  fleeing  they  had  been  exposed 
to  the  disease  their  flight  served  to  spread  the 
contagion  rather  than  to  protect  themselves. 
An  epidemic,  like  a  conflagration,  would  in- 

[148] 


crease  in  violence  and  then  gradually  die  down 
for  want  of  new  material  to  feed  upon. 

The  story  of  these  epidemics  forms  a  sad 
chapter  in  human  history.  The  bubonic  plague, 
small-pox,  scarlet  fever,  diphtheria,  syphilis  and 
cholera,  have  all  wrought  havoc  to  cities.  We 
can  contemplate  only  with  pity  the  helplessness 
of  man  even  a  hundred  years  ago  in  the  presence 
of  most  of  these  diseases. 

Although  often  lacking  a  scientific  basis, 
some  progressive  steps  in  warding  off  conta- 
gious disease  had  been  taken  before  the  time 
of  Pasteur.  It  was  in  1798  that  Edward  Jen- 
ner  gave  to  the  world  immunity  from  small- 
pox through  vaccination.  While  it  is  claimed 
by  many  that  civilized  man  has  now  advanced 
beyond  the  need  of  vaccination,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  Jenner's  discovery  was  a  great  boon  to 
the  human  race.  Small-pox  is  a  most  loathsome 
disease  and  at  one  time  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  causes  of  mortality  in  cities.  Besides 
securing  a  large  measure  of  immunity  from 
vaccination,  we  have  now  learned  to  detect  and 
isolate  cases  of  this  disease,  so  that  the  number 
of  exposures  is  constantly  becoming  less  and 
very  few  deaths  result  therefrom. 

The  introduction  of  diphtheria  antitoxin  in 
1894  marked  another  epoch  in  the  treatment  of 
contagious  disease.  Not  only  was  the  rate  of 
mortality  from  diphtheria  greatly  reduced,  but 

[1*9] 


MODERN    CITIES 

the  spread  of  the  disease  was  likewise  effectually 
checked.  The  success  of  this  antitoxin  has  led 
to  much  experimentation  with  the  hope  of  pro- 
ducing effective  agents  to  combat  other  germ 
diseases.  Although  nothing  as  remarkable  as 
the  diphtheria  antitoxin  has  as  yet  been  pro- 
duced, a  number  of  valuable  serums  for  the 
treatment  of  tetanus,  pneumonia,  rabies  and 
other  diseases  have  been  prepared. 

Ehrlich's  remedy  for  syphilis,  while  not  fully 
meeting  claims  first  made  for  it,  is  doing  much 
to  check  the  dissemination  of  this  scourge.  The 
study  of  malaria  and  yellow  fever  has  resulted 
in  discoveries  as  to  the  nature  and  spread  of 
these  diseases  and  has  pointed  the  way  to  their 
elimination.  The  pestiferous  mosquito  has  been 
clearly  convicted  of  complicity  in  their  deadly 
work,  and  is  now  doomed  to  annihilation.  In 
this  connection,  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  con- 
struction of  the  Panama  Canal,  now  nearing 
completion,  was  made  possible  by  the  dis- 
covery of  the  transmission  of  yellow  fever  by 
mosquitoes.  The  mortality  of  workmen  under 
De  Lesseps  was  so  great  that  the  work  had 
to  be  abandoned. 

Scarcely  less  noteworthy  are  the  precautions 
taken  in  modern  society  against  the  spread  of 
contagious  diseases  of  all  kinds.  Materials 
that  have  been  in  contact  with  persons  afflicted 
with  contagious  diseases  are  disinfected  or  de- 

[150] 


CONSERVATION  OF  HUMAN   LIFE 

stroyed  and  diseased  persons  are  isolated.  The 
ideal  now  sought  is  the  prevention  of  possible 
contamination  of  one  person  by  another.  Com- 
mon drinking  cups,  common  communion  cups 
and  common  towels,  are  all  being  banished  and 
individual  articles  substituted.  The  value  of 
this  precaution  is  especially  great  in  public 
schools  and  in  large  offices  and  factories  where 
people  from  all  sorts  of  home  conditions  mingle 
freely  with  one  another.  The  time  is  not  long 
past  when  the  public  school  was  a  prominent 
factor  in  the  spread  of  contagious  diseases. 
Fortunately  greater  intelligence  on  the  part 
of  teachers  and  school  managers,  greater  cleanli- 
ness in  the  school-room,  more  sunshine,  more 
fresh  air,  together  with  the  precautions  just 
described,  have  rendered  the  public  school  com- 
paratively safe. 

The  greatest  gain  of  the  past  decade  is  seen 
in  the  improvement  of  methods  for  the  protec- 
tion of  society  against  the  great  white  plague, 
tuberculosis.  While  it  has  been  known  for 
many  years  that  tuberculosis  is  a  germ  disease, 
medical  skill,  until  recent  times,  was  powerless 
either  to  cure  the  disease  or  to  check  its  spread. 
The  disease  would  not  respond  to  ordinary 
therapeutic  methods  and  was  counted  prac- 
tically incurable.  Thanks,  however,  to  modern 
science  tuberculosis  is  now  being  checked  in  its 
ravages  and  incipient  cases  are  cured.  The 

[151] 


MODERN    CITIES 

medical  profession  holds  that  this  most  per- 
sistent plague  of  mankind  may  eventually  be 
practically  annihilated.  To  do  this,  of  course, 
will  require  better  homes  for  the  people  and 
more  intelligent  living,  but  there  is  now  no 
question  that  the  disease  belongs  to  the  so-called 
filth  diseases,  and  is  therefore  subject  to  the 
control  of  man. 

Typhoid  fever  also  is  gradually  being  elimi- 
nated. This  dread  disease  has  figured  largely 
in  the  death-rates  of  cities  throughout  the  world. 
As  it  is  principally  transmitted  by  drinking 
water  its  prevalence  in  the  main  is  due  to 
impure  sources  of  water-supply.  Too  often 
people  of  cities  have  been  compelled  to  drink 
water  infected  with  typhoid  germs  through  the 
sewage  of  other  towns.  Cholera,  while  differ- 
ing widely  from  typhoid  fever  in  its  symptoms, 
has  been  disseminated  in  practically  the  same 
manner.  The  latter  disease  has  been  almost 
entirely  done  away  with  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica, with  the  exception  of  occasional  outbreaks 
in  cities  on  the  Mediterranean.  Whenever  a 
case  of  either  disease  is  now  discovered,  an  effort 
is  made  to  find  and  remove  the  cause.  Some 
cities  are  filtering  their  water-supply,  others 
are  going  to  great  expense  to  secure  a  supply 
that  shall  be  free  from  contamination. 

An  examination  of  the  accompanying  tables 
of  comparative  death-rates  in  various  years  in 

[152] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

Munich  will  show  that,  while  there  has  been  a 
marked  reduction  in  that  city  in  deaths  caused 
by  contagious  and  infectious  diseases,  there  has 
been  an  even  greater  reduction  in  deaths  caused 
by  diseases  of  the  digestive  organs.  The  most 
common  of  these  are  indigestion,  enteritis, 
diarrhea  and  cholera  morbus,  and  the  victims 
are  mainly  children.  As  the  exciting  cause  in 
these  diseases  is  usually  pathogenic  bacteria 
taken  in  with  the  food,  the  use  of  pure  food 
prevents  their  occurrence.  The  experience  of 
Munich  is  probably  not  unlike  the  experience  of 
many  other  cities,  although  few  have  the  statis- 
tics at  hand  necessary  to  demonstrate  the  fact. 

On  What  Does  the  Death-Rate  Depend  ? 

In  comparing  the  death-rates  of  cities  we  have 
noted  remarkable  differences.  Some  of  the 
rates  are  easily  accounted  for,  while  others 
seem  unaccountable.  Facts  appear  to  justify 
the  following  conclusions: 

1.  The  death-rate  does  not  depend  on  the 
size  of  the  city.  London,  the  world's  metrop- 
olis, has  a  death-rate  (14)  much  lower  than 
many  smaller  cities,  and  its  rate  has  decreased 
as  its  population  has  increased.  This  has  been 
due  partly  to  the  annexation  of  suburbs  in 
which  conditions  of  living  are  extremely  favor- 
able, and  partly  to  the  improved  sanitary  man- 
agement of  the  city.  The  decrease  of  the  death- 


MODERN    CITIES 

rate  in  London  has  not,  however,  been  as 
marked  as  that  of  some  smaller  cities.  New 
York,  our  American  metropolis,  in  1910,  had 
a  death-rate  of  16,  which  was  approximately 
the  same  as  the  rate  throughout  the  State.  In 
spite  of  the  rapid  increase  in  density  of  popula- 
tion in  Manhattan  Borough  the  death-rate  since 
1895  has  steadily  declined.  Richmond  Borough, 
which  in  comparison  is  sparsely  settled,  has  a 
much  higher  death-rate.  The  lowest  death-rates 
are  found  in  the  small  garden  cities  of  England, 
which  have  been  specially  planned  for  human 
habitation.  These  towns  have  each  only  a  few 
thousand  inhabitants  and  were  recently  built. 
Their  death-rates  thus  far  have  been  less  than 
10  per  thousand,  in  some  cases  less  than  5, 
but  it  is  improbable  that  such  low  rates  can  be 
maintained. 

2.  The  death-rate  does  not  depend  on  nation- 
ality or  race.  Cities  inhabited  by  people  of  the 
same  race  differ  greatly  in  death-rates.  Dresden, 
in  1909,  had  a  death-rate  of  14,  while  Breslau 
had  a  rate  of  20.3.  Turin  and  Venice  are  both 
Italian  towns  and  yet  the  former  had  a  death- 
rate  of  15.4  and  the  latter  one  of  22.1.  Dublin's 
death-rate  was  22.4,  while  Belfast's  was  18.2. 
Russian  cities  have  high  death-rates,  but  it  has 
not  been  shown  that  the  Russian,  under  favor- 
able circumstances,  is  shorter  lived  than  the 
German  or  Englishman.  Likewise  the  high 

[154] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

death-rates  among  negroes  is  due  more  to  neg- 
lect and  poverty  than  to  race. 

3.  The  death-rate  does  not  depend  on  the 
age  of  the  city.     It  is  true  that  some  young 
cities  like  Chicago  and  St.  Paul  have  low  death- 
rates,  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  rates  have  de- 
clined as  the  towns  have  grown  older.     Rome, 
a  modernized,  ancient  city,  enjoys  a  death-rate 
as  low  as  that  of  many  newer  cities.     When 
cities    allowed    their    waste    to    accumulate    in 
streets  and  open  places,  when  earth  closets  were 
in  use,  when  water  was  drawn  from  wells,  peo- 
ple poisoned  themselves  with  their  own  filth  and 
the  older  the  town  became  the  more  virulent 
the  poison.    Happily  all  that  is  now  done  away 
with,  and  there  remains  no  reason  why  a  city 
should  grow  less  healthful  with  age.     On  the 
contrary,  age  brings  the  opportunity  and  wealth 
necessary  for  improvements  that  may  greatly 
assist  in  prolonging  life. 

4.  The  death-rate  depends  only  slightly  on 
climatic  conditions.     As  extremes  of  heat  and 
cold  are  unfavorable  to  human  life,  great  cities 
are  rarely  found  outside  the  temperate  zones. 
Inside  these  zones,  however,  man  has  learned 
to  protect  himself  from  heat  and  cold,  so  that 
he  suffers  little  from  either.     The   death-rate 
among  adults  in  cities  is  higher  in  winter  than 
in  summer,  but  among  children  under  five  years 
the  reverse  obtains.    The  long  winter  of  north- 

[155] 


MODERN    CITIES 

ern  countries  saps  the  vitality  of  adults  and 
renders  the  system  an  easy  prey  to  germs.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  heat  of  the  summer  months 
causes  rapid  multiplication  of  germs  in  food, 
and  at  the  same  time  disturbs  the  working  of 
the  digestive  system.  The  twentieth  century 
man  has  learned  to  overcome  these  defects  in 
his  natural  environment.  He  builds  houses  and 
burns  coal  to  keep  him  warm  in  winter  and  he 
uses  ice  and  electric  fans  to  keep  him  cool  in 
summer.  Moreover,  he  dresses  according  to 
the  season.  If  he  is  sensitive  to  heat  or  cold, 
he  goes  north  or  south  to  find  a  more  agreeable 
climate.  Thus  man  escapes  the  effects  of  what 
otherwise  might  prove  an  injurious  environ- 
ment. The  very  poor,  unfortunately,  are  un- 
able so  to  shield  themselves  and  many  of  them 
succumb  to  heat  and  cold. 

Cities  in  northwestern  Europe  as  a  rule  have 
low  death-rates.  The  direct  effect  of  climate 
in  producing  these  results  is  problematical. 
That  the  people  of  Denmark  and  Sweden  are  a 
hardy,  thrifty  race  is  no  doubt  due  to  their 
environment,  of  which  climate  is  no  inconsider- 
able part.  They  have  the  ingrained  habit  of 
overcoming  obstacles,  and  consequently  have 
been  more  ready  to  accept  and  make  use  of  the 
discoveries  of  modern  science  in  the  promotion 
of  public  health  than  their  less  thrifty  southern 
neighbors. 

[156] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

The  recent  great  reduction  in  death-rates  in 
cities  of  southern  Italy  shows  that  death  is  not 
a  natural  concomitant  of  sunshine  and  heat  in 
that  delightful  country.  It  is  probable  that, 
when  the  people  of  Naples  and  neighboring 
towns  have  secured  better  housing  conditions 
and  have  learned  to  safeguard  the  lives  of  chil- 
dren, the  death-rate  of  that  region  will  not  be 
higher  than  that  of  northwestern  Europe. 

The  experience  of  St.  Petersburg  and  Mon- 
treal show  that  cities  in  cold  climates  may  have 
high  death-rates. 

Other  things  being  equal,  we  should  expect 
an  abundant  rainfall  to  be  unfavorable  to  hu- 
man life.  A  large  amount  of  rain  causes  damp- 
ness in  houses  and  prevents  people  from  living 
in  the  open  air.  Likewise,  clouds  and  fogs  are 
not  as  favorable  as  sunshine.  Germs  prosper 
in  dampness  and  darkness,  but  rapidly  disappear 
in  sunshine.  On  the  other  hand  an  abundance 
of  rain  keeps  down  dust  in  cities  and  carries 
away  such  dirt  as  may  be  left  on  streets  after 
the  ordinary  process  of  cleaning. 

In  primitive  communities  heat  and  cold,  rain- 
fall and  other  features  of  the  climate,  such  as 
winds  and  storms,  produce  a  decided  effect 
on  the  health  of  the  people,  but  civilization  has 
neutralized  their  influence  to  a  very  large  extent. 

5.  The  death-rate  depends  on  the  water  sup- 
ply and  the  drainage.  It  has  been  clearly  dem- 

[157] 


MODERN    CITIES 

onstrated  that  cholera  and  typhoid  fever  and 
some  other  diseases  are  disseminated  by  impure 
drinking  water.  Cities  that  use  unfiltered  river 
water  containing  sewage  from  towns  farther  up 
the  stream,  almost  always  suffer  from  typhoid 
fever.  Prior  to  1899  Albany,  New  York,  used 
without  filtration  the  water  of  the  Hudson 
River,  which  received  the  sewage  of  Troy, 
Watervliet  and  Cohoes,  a  group  of  cities  farther 
up  the  river.  Naturally,  typhoid  fever  became 
unusually  prevalent  in  Albany,  amounting  at 
times  to  an  epidemic.  A  modern  filtration  plant 
was  then  constructed  and  since  1899  has  been 
successfully  operated.  The  number  of  deaths 
from  typhoid  fever,  which  for  ten  years  prior 
to  1889  averaged  84  per  year,  immediately  de- 
clined, the  average  for  the  past  ten  years  (1902- 
12)  being  21. 

The  city  of  Hamburg,  Germany,  had  a  simi- 
lar experience.  The  river  Elbe,  from  which  it 
drew  its  water-supply,  received  its  sewage  as 
well  as  that  of  many  other  towns.  The  incom- 
ing tide  carried  sewage  back  above  the  intake 
for  the  water-supply,  so  that  at  times  Hamburg 
was  actually  drinking  its  own  sewage.  In  1893 
a  new  filtration  plant  was  put  into  operation 
in  this  old  Hansa  town  and  other  sanitary  re- 
forms were  accomplished.  Since  the  installation 
of  the  filtration  plant  only  one  slight  outbreak 
of  cholera  has  occurred,  and  it  was  discovered 

[158] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

that  this  was  caused  by  a  leakage  from  the  river 
into  the  tunnel  which  conveyed  the  filtered 
water  from  the  filtration  plant  to  the  pumping 
station.  The  death-rate  responded  to  the  new 
improvements.  The  average  rate  for  the  five 
years,  1886-1890,  was  25.3,  while  that  of  the  five 
years,  1896-1900,  was  only  17.3.  The  rate  has 
now  been  reduced  to  less  than  15. 

Naples,  far-famed  for  beauty  of  location,  as 
well  as  for  dirt,  fleas  and  beggars,  is  another 
typical  example  of  the  beneficial  effects  of  a 
good  water-supply.  Cholera  gains  a  frequent 
entrance  into  the  port  of  Naples,  and  until 
recent  years  the  people  seemed  helpless  in  its 
presence.  After  the  great  epidemic  of  1884  the 
Italian  government  took  a  hand  in  the  renova- 
tion of  Naples.  One  of  the  first  things  done 
was  to  secure  a  pure  water-supply  from  the 
mountains  of  Avellino,  about  sixty  miles  away. 
Other  improvements  followed,  and  the  city  vir- 
tually took  on  new  life.  Epidemics  of  cholera 
became  rare  and  typhoid  fever  almost  dis- 
appeared. A  death-rate  of  33  was  gradually 
cut  down  until,  in  1908,  the  rate  was  21.84. 
While  this  is  still  a  high  death-rate,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  Naples  has  a  large  propor- 
tion of  illiterate  and  impoverished  inhabitants. 

6.  The  death-rate  depends  on  housing  condi- 
tions. Wherever  people  live  in  cellars,  base- 
ments or  attics,  in  rear  tenements,  or  in  crowded 

[159] 


MODERN    CITIES 

conditions  in  tenements  or  shacks,  there  will  be 
found  a  high  death-rate.  Poverty,  ignorance, 
depravity  and  depressing  and  imhealthful  sur- 
roundings all  combine  in  the  work  of  destroy- 
ing human  lives.  To  live  and  prosper  a  person 
must  have  good  food,  good  clothing  and  shelter, 
fresh  air,  sunshine  and  an  opportunity  for 
healthful  exercise  and  quiet  rest.  In  the  slums 
all  these  are  absent,  and  the  lamp  of  life  not 
being  replenished  soon  goes  out.  No  one  who 
has  gone  through  the  slums  of  a  great  city  will 
question  the  relation  of  housing  conditions  to 
the  death-rate.  That  young  children  survive 
such  an  environment  at  all  is  almost  a  miracle. 

Statistics  gathered  in  Berlin,  Budapest, 
Washington  and  New  York  all  confirm  the 
obvious  fact  that  people  do  not  flourish  in  an 
unwholesome  environment.  A  more  detailed 
discussion  of  this  matter  is  given  in  the  chapter 
on  housing  conditions.1 

7.  The  death-rate  depends  on  the  general 
management  of  a  city.  Cities  differ  greatly  in 
their  management  and  in  the  protection  af- 
forded citizens  against  fire,  disease  and  crime. 
The  criminal  class  flock  to  the  towns  where 
the  police  are  inefficient  and  law  enforcement 
is  lax.  In  such  towns  the  social  evil,  with  its 
concomitant  diseases,  gets  a  firmer  foothold  and 

Chapter  III. 
[160] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

drunkenness  and  crimes  of  violence  become 
more  common. 

Cleveland  and  Cincinnati  are  sometimes  com- 
pared as  illustrating  differences  in  human  wel- 
fare in  a  well-managed  and  in  an  ill-managed 
city.  Cleveland,  for  the  past  decade,  has  en- 
joyed the  reputation  of  being  the  best  governed 
city  in  America,  while  Cincinnati's  government 
has  been  counted  one  of  the  worst.  Under  the 
same  management  the  one  city  ought  to  be  as 
healthful  as  the  other.  The  average  annual 
death-rate  of  Cleveland,  from  1901  to  1905, 
was  15.5,  while  that  of  Cincinnati  for  the  same 
period  was  19.3.  In  the  year  1909,  Cleveland's 
rate  was  12.9,  while  Cincinnati's  was  16.4. 
Cleveland  could  have  had  two  thousand  more 
deaths  in  the  year  1909  without  exceeding  Cin- 
cinnati's rate.  Cleveland's  increase  in  popula- 
tion from  1900  to  1910  was  46.9  per  cent,  while 
Cincinnati's  was  only  11.8. 

The  great  reduction  in  the  past  quarter  cen- 
tury in  death-rates  in  the  cities  of  Germany  and 
Italy  is  at  least  partially  due  to  the  better  man- 
agement of  recent  years. 

8.  The  death-rate  depends  on  the  economic 
condition  of  the  people.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  mortality  is  greater  among  the  poor 
than  among  the  middle  and  wealthy  classes. 
The  poor  often  have  not  sufficient  food  to  keep 
up  the  vitality  of  the  body,  and  are  exposed  to 

[161] 


MODERN    CITIES 

contagion  and  accidents  to  a  much  greater  de- 
gree than  more  prosperous  classes.  In  many 
cities  during  periods  of  hard  times,  a  large 
proportion  of  the  population  are  reduced  below 
the  line  of  self-maintenance.  The  community 
must  care  for  the  poorer  classes  or  they  will 
become  diseased  and  a  portion  will  perish.  Be- 
fore modern  methods  of  caring  for  the  poor  were 
instituted,  the  mortality  among  dependents  in 
times  of  crises  was  exceedingly  great,  and  even 
now  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  high  death- 
rates  of  some  cities  are  largely  due  to  the  failure 
of  the  community  properly  to  safeguard  the 
lives  of  the  poor. 

Under  the  Elberfeld  system  of  caring  for 
the  poor,  which  is  in  vogue  in  many  German 
cities,  much  of  the  extreme  poverty  formerly 
prevalent  is  avoided,  and  the  unfortunate  people 
are  not  permitted  to  be  a  prey  to  contagious 
diseases.  Under  the  Elberfeld  system  a  city  is 
divided  into  districts,  and  in  each  district  a  num- 
ber of  friendly  visitors  work  under  a  district 
superintendent  in  such  a  systematic  way  that 
every  family  is  under  surveillance.  If  any  fam- 
ily becomes  unable  properly  to  maintain  itself, 
the  fact  is  immediately  reported  to  the  authori- 
ties and  steps  are  taken  to  give  the  help  needed. 
The  advantage  of  this  method  over  the  old,  that 
consisted  in  helping  poor  families  to  secure 

[162] 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

medical  assistance  and  properly  to  bury  their 
dead,  can  hardly  be  estimated. 

9.  The  death-rate  depends  on  the  habits  of 
the  people.  Communities  vary  greatly  in  habits 
with  respect  to  the  use  of  alcoholic  beverages, 
sexual  indulgence  and  gambling.  While  the  ef- 
fect of  these  habits  cannot  be  definitely  measured, 
enough  is  known  to  enable  safe  conclusions  to  be 
drawn.  The  free  use  of  alcoholic  liquors  short- 
ens life.  Every  investigation  of  the  subject  con- 
firms the  fact.  It  follows,  therefore,  that,  other 
things  being  equal,  communities  that  use  strong 
drink  to  excess  will  have  higher  death- 
rates  than  those  who  do  not.  The  low  death- 
rates  of  the  cities  of  Norway  and  Sweden  could 
scarcely  be  maintained  by  a  less  sober  people. 
The  communities  of  some  of  the  Western  States, 
from  which  alcohol  as  a  beverage  has  been  ban- 
ished entirely,  have  remarkably  low  death-rates. 
However,  no  one  can  say  with  any  degree  of 
defmiteness  just  how  much  total  abstinence  has 
contributed  to  the  result.  Poverty,  brutality, 
and  crime  accompany  the  excessive  use  of  alco- 
holic beverages  and  contribute  their  share  of 
the  dire  results. 

Prostitution  likewise  brings  with  it  a  train  of 
evils  that  result  in  disease,  insanity  and  death. 
Venereal  disease  is  disseminated  almost  entirely 
by  prostitution.  Owing  to  the  disgrace  accom- 
panying these  diseases,  there  are  no  reliable 

[163] 


MODERN    CITIES 

statistics  of  their  prevalence  or  of  the  mortality 
resulting  from  them.  We  may  be  certain,  how- 
ever, that  they  constitute  an  important  factor 
in  determining  the  death-rate  in  many  com- 
munities. 

Syphilis  gives  rise  to  locomotor  ataxia,  gen- 
eral paresis  and  many  other  fatal  diseases.  As 
its  taint  is  passed  on  to  the  children  of  the 
afflicted,  it  is  rightly  considered  one  of  the  most 
terrible  of  all  contagious  diseases. 

Gonorrhea,  although  less  dreaded,  is  a  most 
serious  disease.  Its  persistence  in  women,  its 
dire  effects  in  causing  blindness  and  death  in 
infants,  are  too  well  known  to  need  emphasis. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  communities  in 
which  prostitution  flourishes  have  an  increased 
death-rate  as  a  reward  of  their  immorality. 
Gambling  and  some  other  vices  affect  life  in- 
directly by  causing  excitement,  worry,  loss  of 
sleep  and  poverty.  In  communities  where  gam- 
bling prevails,  false  standards  of  wealth-getting 
are  set  up.  Healthy  occupation  gives  way  to 
the  anxiety  to  get  something  for  nothing.  Pov- 
erty and  despair  follow  bitter  disappointment 
and  disease  or  suicide  lurk  over  the  ruined  life. 

In  making  comparisons  of  death-rates  in 
cities  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  crude 
death-rate  is  not  always  a  fair  basis  of  com- 
parison. Women  live  longer  than  men,  and 

[16*3 


CONSERVATION   OF   HUMAN   LIFE 

there  are  fewer  deaths  in  some  age-groups  than 
in  others.  To  make  an  absolutely  just  com- 
parison of  death-rates,  therefore,  corrections 
would  have  to  be  made  for  sex  and  age.  This 
would  not  be  difficult  if  the  data  were  at  hand, 
but  it  is  not  easy  to  secure  reliable,  up-to-date 
facts  in  regard  to  the  distribution  of  the  popula- 
tion by  age  and  sex  in  growing  cities.  In  the 
absence  of  such  data  the  crude  death-rate  is 
preferable  to  corrections  based  on  estimates. 


[165] 


CHAPTER  ix 

MUNICIPAL  GOVERNMENT 

THE  form  of  government  is  as  important  for 
a  municipality  as  it  is  for  a  larger  political 
division.  To  argue  that  the  kind  of  a  charter 
in  operation  has  very  little  to  do  with  the  effi- 
ciency of  municipal  administration,  would  be 
just  as  unreasonable  as  to  contend  that  law  was 
a  negligible  factor  in  the  civil  conduct  of  in- 
dividuals. It  is  true  that  law  does  not  deter- 
mine completely  the  behavior  of  the  citizen;  in- 
deed, observance  of  law  depends  upon  the  total 
moral  and  intellectual  basis  of  the  individual. 
A  civil  law  is  always  an  ideal  of  the  law-making 
power;  it  is  generally  far  ahead  of  the  willing- 
ness or  the  ability  of  a  large  proportion  of  the 
citizens  of  any  country  to  obey  it.  But  the 
existence  of  a  body  of  law  serves  not  only  as  a 
rule  of  action,  but  also  as  an  educator  and 
civilizer.  It  tends  to  stimulate  the  citizen  to- 
ward the  ideal  which  it  embodies.  By  means 
of  the  authority  back  of  it  a  cumulative  impres- 
sion of  respect  is  cultivated  for  it  from  genera- 
tion to  generation  through  the  operation  of  the 
law  of  habit.  It  thus  reacts  upon  the  behavior 
of  the  citizen  for  the  good  of  society. 

[166] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

The  particular  form  of  a  law  has  much  to  do 
with  its  effectiveness.  If  the  law  be  unreason- 
able, unpractical  or  fails  to  voice  the  ethical  and 
intellectual  standards  recognized  by  the  people, 
it  becomes  ineffective.  A  law  may  thus  fail, 
either  because  it  is  too  historic,  or  out-of-date, 
or  too  prophetic,  or  ahead  of  its  time.  The 
case  is  similar  with  charters  or  other  laws  gov- 
erning the  conduct  of  municipalities.  The  form 
is  very  important.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that 
bad  men  will  make  any  form  ineffective;  it  is 
equally  true  that  good  men  are  retarded  from 
rendering  the  best  service  to  a  city  because  of  a 
cumbersome,  unpractical,  expensive  and  in- 
efficient instrument  of  government.  An  exami- 
nation, therefore,  of  the  antecedents  of  the  sys- 
tem which  obtains  pretty  generally  throughout 
the  United  States,  of  the  system  itself,  and  of  the 
other  system  which  is  gradually  emerging  from 
the  old  may  be  profitable. 

I.  Administration  by  a  Close  Corporation 
Previous  to  1835  there  existed  in  England 

and  Wales  municipal 1  corporations  authorized 

as  follows: 

(1)   By  common  law,  deriving  their  power 

1  Commentaries  on  the  Law  of  Municipal  Corporations. 
By  John  F.  Dillon.  Vol.  I,  Chapter  III,  p.  79.  Also 
First  Report  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  to  inquire 
into  the  Municipal  Corporations  of  England  and  Wales. 
Ordered  to  be  printed  30th  March,  1835. 

[167] 


from  immemorial  usage,  the  original  act  creat- 
ing them  not  being  recorded  and  long  since 
having  dropped  out  of  memory.  (2)  By  pre- 
scription, presupposing  a  grant  by  charter  or 
act  of  parliament.  (3)  By  royal  charter.  (4) 
By  authority  of  parliament.  As  will  appear, 
there  was  no  uniformity  either  in  the  constitu- 
tion or  powers  of  these  corporations.  There 
was  really  no  municipal  corporation  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  term.  There  were  simply 
corporations  of  small  select  bodies  within  the 
boroughs  which  had  the  power  extended  to  them 
of  governing  these  boroughs,  irrespective  of  any 
attitude  citizens  might  assume.  The  corpora- 
tion included  a  mayor,  a  definite  number  of 
aldermen  and  an  indefinite  number  of  the  com- 
monalty, or  freemen.  No  act  of  the  corpora- 
tion was  valid  without  the  presence  of  the 
mayor,  a  majority  of  the  aldermen  and  a  few 
of  the  freemen. 

Under  this  general  method  of  incorporating 
and  managing  boroughs,  great  abuses  inevitably 
existed.  The  reformed  House  of  Commons  in 
1833  presented  an  address  to  William  IV,  ask- 
ing for  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  in- 
quire into  the  state  of  municipal  corporations  in 
England  and  Wales.  This  commission  was 
appointed  and  did  a  thorough-going  piece  of 
work;  its  report  became  the  basis  of  the  mu- 
nicipal corporation  act  of  5  and  6  William  IV, 

[168] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

Chapter  LXXVI,  enacted  September  9,  1835, 
one  of  the  most  significant  pieces  of  legisla- 
tion ever  put  forth  in  any  country.  But  the 
report  reveals  an  astounding  state  of  affairs  for 
a  liberty  and  fairplay-loving  people.  The  mar- 
vel is  that  these  conditions  were  endured  for 
such  a  long  period. 

The  evils  which  the  commissions  discovered 
were:  * 

1.  Municipal  corporations  were  formed  by  a 
close   and   corrupt   system   of   election   in   the 
majority  of  cases. 

2.  Lack  of  uniformity  in  the  ways  in  which 
charters  originated  and  powers  granted  them. 

(a)  Two   hundred   and   forty-six  municipal 
corporations  were  reported,  including  a  popula- 
tion exceeding  2,000,000.  Some  of  them  claimed 
to  act  under  prescriptive  custom,  but  most  of 
them  under  several  charters  reaching  back  in 
some  cases  to  a  very  early  date.    The  number 
of  corporators  in  fifty  of  these  was   definite, 
ranging  from  ten  to  thirty;  in  sixty-two,  in- 
definite, ranging  from  twelve  to  five  thousand, 
but  the  average  was  fifty  to  two  hundred. 

(b)  The  privilege  of  citizenship  for  freedom 
was  given  in  a  variety  of  ways,  that  is  to  say, 

1  Glover's   Historical   Summary   of   the   Corporate  Sys- 
tem of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  pp.  38-45. 

[169] 


MODERN    CITIES 

by  birth,  servitude,  marriage,  purchase,  gift  or 
election. 

(c)  Some  municipalities  exercised  exclusive 
criminal  jurisdiction  extending  even  to  felonies 
and  other  offenses;  others  had  no  criminal  juris- 
diction whatsoever.     Some  possessed  civil  juris- 
diction over  all  actions,  others  could  cover  per- 
sonal and  mixed  actions,  still  others  dealt  with 
personal  actions,  but  some  municipalities  had 
no  civil  jurisdiction  whatsoever. 

(d)  An  unjust  amount  of  revenue  was  ex- 
acted from  municipalities  of  varying  ability  to 
pay.     In   some  the   amount  of  property  was 
trivial;  in  others  it  amounted  to  a  very  con- 
siderable sum,  and  yet  all  had  to  pay  an  equal 
sum. 

(e)  They  were  conducted  in  an  extravagant 
and  unbusiness-like  manner.     The  total  annual 
income  of  these  municipalities  was  about  366,- 
000  pounds,  and  expenditure  377,000  pounds. 
The  indebtedness  of  133  of  them  exceeded  two 
million  pounds. 

(f)  In  a  few  municipalities,  accounts  were 
properly    kept,    printed    for    distribution    and 
audited  publicly;  in  others  there  was  not  even 
a  pretense  of  accounting  for  moneys  spent  and 
received. 

3.  Complaints    were    made    to   the    commis- 
sioners to  the  effect  that 

[170] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

(a)  Magistrates  were  ignorant,  partial  and 
corrupt. 

(b)  Courts   were  made  the  instruments  of 
local  advantage. 

(c)  Juries  were  improperly  selected  and  were 
liable  to  be  influenced  by  partizan  considerations 
in  their  verdicts. 

(d)  Revenues  were  mis-applied. 

(e)  Debts  were  contracted  fraudulently. 

(f)  Property  was  alienated. 

(g)  Absence  of  accounts  and  a  denial  of  ac- 
countability to  the  citizens  by  the  officials. 

(h)   Insufficient  police  protection. 

(i)   Lack  of  paving  and  lighting. 

(j)  Want  of  municipal  accommodations  for 
which  the  property  entrusted  to  the  corpora- 
tions, if  properly  managed,  would  be  ample. 

4.  The  most  fundamental  defect  discovered 
by  the  commissioners  was  that  these  municipal 
corporations  existed  independent  of  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  were  found.  The  mu- 
nicipal corporation  and  the  community  were 
two  separate  entities.  To  the  former  was  given 
a  charter  to  manage  the  latter  according  to  its 
own  judgment.  The  community  had  no  more 
voice  in  the  management  of  its  own  affairs  than 
if  it  existed  in  a  state  of  feudalism.  All  sorts 
of  irregularities  were  encouraged  by  this  sys- 
tem. Local  privileges  were  sometimes  granted 

[171] 


MODERN    CITIES 

to  outsiders.  When  funds  were  misappropri- 
ated, there  was  no  redress,  even  if  errors  could 
be  discovered.  These  self-elected  bodies  con- 
tinued themselves  and  their  friends  in  power 
indefinitely.  They  belonged  to  a  definite  politi- 
cal party  and  this  insured  the  return  to  parlia- 
ment of  members  of  this  particular  party,  since 
the  corporations  had  the  power  of  returning 
members  for  the  borough.  Do  we  wonder  that 
the  kings  of  England,  especially  the  Tudors, 
played  fast  and  loose  with  the  boroughs?  Do 
we  wonder  that  there  were  rotten  and  pocket 
boroughs?  This  system,  prima  facie,  resulted  in 
complete  domination  of  municipal  management 
by  the  politics  of  the  realm. 

These  traditions  were  handed  down  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States  when  they  became 
an  independent  sovereign  power  in  1776.  If 
the  American  Revolution  had  occurred  sixty 
years  later,  who  can  tell  but  that  the  conduct 
of  municipal  government  would  have  become 
very  different  in  the  United  States?  James 
Bryce  says:  "There  is  no  denying  that  the 
government  of  cities  is  the  one  conspicuous 
failure  of  the  United  States.  The  deficiencies 
of  the  national  government  tell  but  little  for 
evil  on  the  welfare  of  the  people.  The  faults 
of  the  state  government  are  insignificant  com- 
pared with  the  extravagance,  corruption,  and 
mismanagement  which  have  marked  the  admin- 

[172] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

istration  of  most  of  the  great  cities."  *  This 
remark  can  be  matched  by  saying  that  up  to 
the  year  1835,  municipal  management  was  the 
one  conspicuous  failure  of  government  in  Great 
Britain.  Of  course,  cities  had  not  had  at  that 
time  the  enormous  growth  which  came  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  there- 
fore corruption  could  not  be  conducted  on  such 
a  tremendous  scale,  but  if  the  report  of  the 
commissioners  be  reliable,  a  brief  extract  from 
which  is  given  above,  it  was  just  as  prevalent 
and  even  more  iniquitous.  The  American  city 
once  in  a  while  would  take  things  into  its  own 
hands  and  the  perpetrators  of  corruption  would 
be  brought  to  the  bars  of  justice,  but  there  was 
no  redress  in  the  old-time  British  city. 

But  the  municipal  legislation  of  1835  brought 
about  a  miraculous  change  in  Great  Britain. 
Some  of  the  provisions  were: 

1.  Uniformity  of  constitution  for  municipal 
government. 

2.  Uniform    and    definite    qualifications    for 
burgesses  or  citizens. 

"Every  male  person  of  full  age,  who  shall 
have  occupied  any  house,  warehouse,  counting- 
house,  or  shop  within  any  borough"  for  a  period 
of  three  years.  "And  during  the  time  of  such 
occupancy  been  an  inhabitant  householder  with- 

1  The  American  Commonwealth.  By  James  Bryce.  Vol. 
I,  p.  642  (Ed.  1911). 

[173] 


MODERN    CITIES 

in  the  borough,  or  within  seven  miles  of  the 
borough,  shall,  if  duly  enrolled,  be  a  burgess  of 
such  borough,  provided  he  shall  have  been  rated 
in  respect  to  the  premises  so  occupied  by  him 
to  all  rates  made  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  within 
the  parish" — these  and  these  only  were  to  be 
members  of  the  municipal  corporation.  The 
other  inhabitants  of  a  municipality  were  not 
corporate  members  of  it,  but  nevertheless  were 
subject  to  the  government  of  the  corporation. 

3.  Method  of  choosing  councilors.     On   the 
first  of  November  in  each  year  it  was  declared 
that  the  "Burgesses  so  enrolled  in  every  borough 
shall  openly  assemble  and  elect  from  the  per- 
sons  qualified   to   be  councilors   the   councilors 
of  the  borough."     Any  citizen  could  become  a 
councilor    provided    his    rating    was    sufficient. 
The  term  was  three  years,  and  one-third  of  the 
councilors  were  to  retire  annually.     The  vot- 
ing was  openly   done  in  the  presence  of  the 
mayor  and  the  assessors. 

4.  Choice     of     aldermen.       The     aldermen, 
numbering   one-third   of   the   councilors,    were 
elected  for  a  term  of  six  years,  one-half  of  them 
retiring  triennially.     They  were  to  be  chosen 
by  the  councilors  on  the  ninth  of  November  in 
every  third  succeeding  year.     They  could  be 
elected   from   the   councilors,   or   such   citizens 
as  were  qualified  to  be  councilors. 

5.  The  mayor.     The  mayor  was  chosen  for 

[  174  ] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

one  year.  The  choice  was  made  on  November 
ninth  from  among  the  councilors  or  aldermen. 
There  was  no  salary.  He  simply  presided  at 
meetings  of  the  council. 

6.  The  council  was  composed  of  the  mayor, 
aldermen  and  councilors.  It  was  empowered 
to  elect  as  stated  aldermen  and  the  mayor,  to 
conduct  the  affairs  of  the  municipality  and  to 
undertake  anything  for  the  good  of  the  munici- 
pality not  forbidden  expressly  by  law.  It  was 
not  empowered  to  license  the  sale  of  liquor,  or 
to  dispense  public  charity.  Within  its  province 
were  streets,  pavements,  parks,  public  buildings, 
better-housing  for  workmen,  baths,  museums, 
art  galleries,  places  of  recreation,  the  public 
health,  sewers,  isolation,  hospitals,  city  lighting, 
tramways,  markets,  cemeteries,  ferries,  police 
and  fire  protection.  It  could  own  and  operate 
public  utilities  such  as  tramways,  lighting,  water- 
supply,  etc.  It  could  clean  the  city,  supply 
watchers,  administer  justice,  own,  sell  and  mort- 
gage property,  charge  rates,  maintain  bridges, 
promote  public  libraries,  provide  for  the  safe- 
keeping of  petroleum,  etc. 

The  provisions  of  this  act  were  modified  in 
many  particulars  by  the  legislation  of  1882,  al- 
though fundamental  things  remained  un- 
changed. The  significant  thing  is  that  this  act 
of  1835  transformed  the  system  of  municipal 
government  in  Great  Britain  very  completely. 

[175] 


MODERN    CITIES 

Incompetence  disappeared  and  the  cities  be- 
came efficiently  managed.  All  forms  of  graft 
were  wiped  out.  The  most  stringent  provisions 
were  made  to  protect  the  municipalities  from 
corrupt  practises.  Any  person  found  guilty  of 
corrupt  or  illegal  practise  could  never  there- 
after either  hold  public  office  or  exercise  the 
right  of  voting.  If  the  guilty  person  had  been 
elected  councilor,  he  could  be  unseated.  The 
agent  of  a  councilor  guilty  of  corrupt  practise 
could  also  be  disenfranchised. 

II.  The  Federal  Form 

As  we  have  seen,  even  previous  to  the  Ameri- 
can revolution  of  1776,  our  form  of  municipal 
administration  was  patterned  after  that  of 
Great  Britain.  The  predominating  element  of 
our  population  was  then  of  British  stock.  It 
was  inevitable  that  the  British  system  should 
be  transferred  to  us.  The  colonies  were  British, 
the  first  municipal  charters  were  granted  by  the 
British  crown.  Mayor,  alderman,  borough,  etc., 
are  words  which  show  our  heritage.  We  have 
seen  what  this  system  was.  A  council  presided 
over  by  a  mayor.  The  prerevolutionary  city 
exercised  very  little  legislative  or  administrative 
power.  But  after  the  Revolution  cities  assumed 
important  proportions.  With  the  United  States 
an  independent  sovereign  power,  the  city  at- 
tracted attention  and  became  more  thoroughly 

[176] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

organized.  But  the  constitution  did  not  provide 
a  basis  for  adequate  local  government.  The 
people  were  absorbed  in  the  federal  problem, 
and  municipal  government  became  an  echo  of 
the  national  administration.  The  mayor  in 
the  British  system  became  a  chief  executive  with 
veto  power.  Heretofore  he  had  been  merely  a 
presiding  officer  at  meetings  of  the  council. 
This  additional  prestige  given  to  the  office  of 
mayor  has  caused  the  federal  form  of  municipal 
government  to  be  known  as  the  "mayor  system." 
The  council  itself  became  for  the  most  part  bi- 
cameral, a  legislature  and  a  senate.  In  Eng- 
land the  aldermen  were  the  creatures  of  the 
British  council,  but  in  the  United  States  the 
office  of  alderman  becomes  elective,  like  that  for 
the  common  council.  The  mayor  also  in  time 
became  an  elective  officer,  and  no  longer  a  crea- 
ture of  the  council.  Through  such  a  cumber- 
some system  of  administration  and  the  transfer 
of  supreme  power  from  the  council  to  the  mayor 
it  became  possible  for  scheming  persons  to  con- 
trol public  office  for  private  ends  on  a  very 
elaborate  scale. 

Political  feeling  during  the  early  days  of  the 
Republic  ran  high.  Contests  between  parties 
became  intense.  Federal  politics  were  intro- 
duced into  municipal  affairs.  This  was  carried 
to  such  a  pass  that  frequently,  during  a  munici- 
pal campaign,  the  needs  of  a  city  would  be 

[177] 


MODERN    CITIES 

passed  by  with  slight  consideration.  Bridges, 
roads,  water-supply,  sewerage,  gas-works,  the 
moral  betterment  of  the  community,  etc.,  were 
sacrificed  for  national  issues.  A  mayor  might 
claim  the  suffrage  of  his  fellow  citizens  just 
because  he  was  a  member  of  one  of  the  great 
political  parties.  This  unfortunate  condition 
of  things  lent  itself  admirably  to  the  demagogue 
and  the  "boss,"  who  could  always  appeal  to  the 
prejudices  of  the  electorate  in  matters  of  na- 
tional politics,  in  order  to  keep  in  power  men 
who  had  been  put  in  office,  not  for  the  interest 
of  the  community,  but  for  the  interest  of  a  par- 
ticular political  party  in  state  and  federal  ad- 
ministrations. 

In  addition  to  this,  both  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica, because  of  the  great  industrial  developments 
that  followed  the  French  and  American  revo- 
lutions, there  was  an  inrush  to  the  cities.  Cities 
in  the  old  world  were  better  organized  than  here 
to  receive  this  accretion.  It  became  a  severe 
tax  even  for  a  well-organized  city.  Managers 
of  political  parties  very  naturally  directed  at- 
tention toward  this  accretion  and  found  that  in 
many  cities  it  could  be  manipulated  in  their 
interest.  The  accretion  was  partly  homogeneous, 
that  is  of  the  same  stock  as  the  original  settlers, 
and  partly  heterogeneous,  that  is,  made  up  of 
foreigners.  The  greater  growth  of  the  city,  de- 
velopments along  industrial  lines,  shifting  very 

[178] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

rapidly  the  centers  of  wealth  as  well  as  creating 
wealth,  and  many  other  factors,  made  the  ad- 
ministration of  cities  a  very  difficult  task.  We 
are  considering  the  difficulty  of  the  task  from 
the  viewpoint  of  a  serious  attempt  at  solving 
the  problem.  But  because  of  the  presence  of 
the  manipulator  directing  all  forces  in  the  in- 
terest of  larger  political  concerns,  it  was  left  un- 
touched and  cities  relapsed  into  the  hands  of  the 
criminal  and  vicious,  or  those  who  administered 
them  for  selfish  interests.  All  sorts  of  induce- 
ments were  offered  voters  and  were  generally 
accepted  in  the  form  of  bribes  for  a  vote,  either 
as  money  or  some  other  consideration.  Vote- 
buying  came  to  be  a  regular  and  taken-for- 
granted  thing.  To  supply  the  funds  wealthy 
corporations  and  others  desiring  franchises  from 
cities  had  to  be  looked  to.  In  this  very  natural 
way  a  system  of  privileges  was  developed  on  a 
very  large  scale  and  the  public  had  to  suffer 
from  mismanagement,  which  meant  to  it  un- 
necessary loss  of  life  and  money. 

For  the  same  purpose,  namely  the  interests 
of  state  and  national  politics,  cities  were  de- 
prived of  the  privilege  of  local  government  al- 
most entirely.  They  had  to  look  to  state  legis- 
latures for  the  most  trivial  things  affecting  their 
administration.  This  servile  dependence  gave 
to  politicians  entire  control  of  the  welfare  of 
cities.  No  student  of  municipal  government 

[179] 


MODERN    CITIES 

would  claim  that  cities  should  be  allowed  com- 
plete self-government.  This  is  impossible  while 
the  city  is  a  part  of  a  larger  political  division. 
The  city,  as  a  state,  has  completely  disappeared 
from  modern  life.  State  and  federal  supervision 
of  cities  is  necessary.  The  city  is  an  item  in 
the  larger  political  scheme.  But  common  sense 
would  indicate  that  supervision  of  the  superior 
sovereign  power  should  not  be  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  frustrate  the  purposes  of  local  administra- 
tion. The  ideal  is  to  afford  local  administration 
the  largest  possible  opportunity  for  its  own 
ends,  consistent  with  the  necessities  of  the  state 
and  nation.  The  practical  working  out  of  the 
federal  system  in  this  country  did  not  admit 
complete  home  rule.  In  their  evolution  and 
development  our  cities  have  been  stripped  of 
home  rule  at  every  opportunity. 

Multiplicity  of  offices  was  developed  in  con- 
nection with  the  spoils  system.  A  large  number 
of  these  were  sinecures,  useful  to  pay  election 
debts.  In  a  city  like  New  York  the  blanket- 
ballot  appears  to  voters  like  a  page  from  the 
directory  of  a  strange  city.  Intelligent  action  by 
the  voter  does  not  count.  The  thing  to  do— 
the  thing  expected  by  the  political  machine — is 
to  cast  a  straight  ticket.  We  need  not  enumer- 
ate the  defects  in  the  practical  working  out  of 
the  federal  plan  any  further.  The  catalogue 
of  its  defects  is  brief  but  sad — the  managing  of 

[180] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

cities,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  community  but 
for  the  sake  of  political  parties,  the  placing  of 
a  premium  on  inefficiency,  encouragement  of 
the  "spoils  system,"  concentration  of  power  in 
the  mayor,  bartering  of  precious  franchises  to 
corporations  for  which  cities,  in  the  majority 
of  cases,  themselves  received  nothing  in  return, 
systematic  corruption,  long  and  unwieldy  bal- 
lots— all  of  these  and  many  more  affecting  the 
well-being  of  the  communities  in  health,  wealth 
and  morals,  show  very  conclusively  that  the 
federal  form  of  administration  as  a  rule l  has 
proved  a  failure.  The  American  people  are 
awakening  to  the  need  of  very  fundamental 
reform  in  the  business  of  municipal  administra- 
tion. 

III.  The  Commission  Form 

Just  as  the  present  splendid  port  of  Genoa 
was  brought  into  existence  by  the  destruction 
of  life  and  property  by  great  storms  in  the 
Mediterranean,  so  was  the  commission  form  of 
government  born  from  the  misfortunes  of  the 
people  of  Galveston,  Texas.  The  story  of  its 
birth  is  now  trite,  but  the  ideal  of  government 

1 A  few  noteworthy  instances  of  efficient  city  govern- 
ment are  found  under  the  federal  plan.  Cleveland,  under 
Tom  Johnson,  and  Toledo,  under  Mayors  Jones  and  Whit- 
lock,  are  brilliant  exceptions  to  the  general  rule.  In  these 
cases  the  personnel  of  the  mayor  and  his  council  rose  su- 
perior to  the  system. 

[181] 


MODERN    CITIES 

that  came  into  the  world  with  it  is  growing  in 
interest  and  is  destined,  as  we  believe,  to  trans- 
form municipal  administration  in  the  United 
States.  Galveston  had  suffered  all  the  iniquities 
of  the  federal  plan.  Then  "On  September  8, 
1900,  a  hurricane,  driving  up  from  the  southeast 
with  unusual  violence,  swept  the  waters  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  over  Galveston."  l  Property 
and  life  were  destroyed  <  and  the  city  became 
a  defaulter.  The  administration  was  helpless; 
something  had  to  be  done.  The  Deepwater 
Committee,  an  organization  of  business  men  for 
harbor  improvement,  took  the  matter  in  hand, 
made  a  study  of  city  charters,  framed  a  new  one, 
and  in  view  of  the  failure  of  municipal  govern- 
ment in  Galveston  for  the  previous  twenty  years, 
recommended  its  adoption  to  the  legislature  of 
Texas.  In  the  petition  the  committee  stated: 
"It  is  hoped  that  the  central  idea  of  the  new 
charter — that  of  a  commission — embodies  the 
practical  solution  of  that  hitherto  unsolved  prob- 
lem— how  to  govern  cheaply  and  well,  a  munici- 
pal corporation.  We  are  asking  for  a  charter, 
placing  the  entire  control  of  the  local  govern- 
ment in  the  hands  of  five  commissioners,  de- 
signed to  benefit  the  people  rather  than  to 
provide  sinecures  for  politicians."  2  The  char- 

1  Commission     Government     in     American     Cities,     by 
Ernest  S.  Bradford,  p.  3. 

2  Article  by   E.   R.   Cheesborough,  Galveston   Tribune, 
Dec.  31,  1901. 

[182] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

ter  was  granted  to  Galveston  and  went  into 
effect  September  18,  1901.  At  once  there  was 
a  different  condition  of  affairs.  In  spite  of  the 
great  calamity,  the  terrible  destruction  of  life 
and  property,  and  the  mismanagement  of  twenty 
years,  Galveston  came  under  the  sway  of  good 
and  economical  government. 

This  commission  builded  better  than  it  knew. 
Its  charter  contained  germinating  notions.  A 
few  hundred  municipalities  have  already  adopt- 
ed the  commission  form  and  are  rinding  relief 
from  the  federal  form  and  rejoicing  in  the 
watchwords:  economy,  efficiency  and  govern- 
ment for  the  community. 

The  Galveston  scheme  has  been  modified  in  a 
variety  of  ways.  But  the  central  notion  that  a 
city,  like  a  private  corporation,  should  be  man- 
aged by  a  few  efficient  men  is  the  chief  com- 
mon measure  of  all  charters  granted  for  the 
government  of  cities  by  commission.  These  few 
men  form  the  legislative,  executive  and  admin- 
istrative departments  of  the  city.  The  word 
"Commissioners"  is  immaterial.  Its  usage  was 
established  by  the  use  the  Deepwater  Committee 
made  of  it  in  its  report  to  the  governor  of  Texas 
asking  for  a  new  charter.  A  good  descriptive 
phrase  would  be  Municipal  Managers,  for  that 
is  precisely  what  they  are.  Under  stress  of  cir- 
cumstances in  which  Galveston  found  itself, 
the  five  managers  were  appointed  by  the  gov- 

[183] 


MODERN    CITIES 

ernor  of  the  state,  later  they  were  elected  at 
large  by  the  voters  of  the  city. 

In  Houston,  Texas,  the  commission  form  was 
modified  by  the  retention  of  the  veto  power  of 
the  mayor  and  by  providing  for  a  referendum 
on  franchises  and  bond  issues. 

The  most  decided  improvements  in  the  com- 
mission plan  were  made  by  the  city  of  Des 
Moines,  Iowa.  After  much  study  and  agitation 
a  bill  was  framed  by  interested  citizens  and 
presented  to  the  legislature  of  the  state.  This 
was  passed  and  became  a  general  law  of  Iowa, 
March  29,  1907.  It  provided  that  any  city  of 
twenty-five  thousand  population  could  organize 
under  the  commission  plan  or,  as  it  became 
known  afterward,  the  Des  Moines  plan.  At  a 
later  date  the  law  was  modified  so  as  to  allow 
cities  with  only  seven  thousand  inhabitants  to 
so  organize.  To  bring  this  about,  a  petition 
must  be  signed  by  electors  equal  to  twenty-five 
per  cent  of  the  vote  cast  for  all  candidates  for 
mayor  at  the  last  general  city  election.  A 
mayor  and  four  commissioners  are  then  elected. 
Elections  thereafter  take  place  biennially. 

Previous  to  the  general  election  a  non-par- 
tizan  primary  is  held.  A  candidate  for  the 
mayoralty  or  commissionership  must  file  a  state- 
ment of  his  candidacy  ten  days  prior  to  the 
primary  election,  and  the  statement  must  be 
accompanied  by  the  signatures  of  twenty-five 

[184] 


electors  requesting  such  a  candidacy.  Provision 
is  made  for  publishing  all  the  names  of  the  can- 
didates. The  ballot  is  non-part izan.  ^The  names 
of  the  candidates  for  mayor  appear  on  the  ballot 
in  alphabetical  order  and  occupy  the  first  place; 
after  these  come  the  names  of  all  the  commis- 
sioners in  the  same  order.  The  two  names 
"Receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  for 
mayor  shall  be  the  candidates,  and  the  only 
candidates  whose  names  shall  be  placed  upon 
the  ballot  for  mayor  at  the  next  succeeding 
general  municipal  election,  and  the  eight  candi- 
dates receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  for 
councilman,  or  all  such  candidates  if  less  than 
eight,  shall  be  the  candidates  and  the  only 
candidates  whose  names  shall  be  placed  upon 
the  ballot  for  councilman  at  such  municipal 
election."  1 

Services  performed  in  the  interest  of  candi- 
dates for  money  or  other  valuable  things  are 
forbidden,  and  heavy  fines  are  imposed  for  the 
giving  or  taking  a  bribe,  giving  false  informa- 
tion and  for  fraudulent  voting. 

Every  commission  city  is  therefore  governed 
by  a  mayor  and  four  commissioners.2  Each 

1  See  "An  act  to  provide  for  the  government  of  certain 
cities  and  the  adoption  thereof  by  special  election."     Ad- 
ditional to  Title  V  (five)  of  the  code,  passed  by  the  Thir- 
ty-second  General   Assembly   of   Iowa  and   adopted  at   a 
special  election  held  June  20,  1907. 

2  Called  councilman  in  the  charter. 

[185] 


MODERN    CITIES 

has  a  right  to  vote  on  all  questions  coming  be- 
fore the  council.  Three  members  constitute  a 
quorum.  Three  affirmative  votes  are  necessary 
to  pass  any  measure  unless  a  greater  vote  is 
specially  provided  for.  The  mayor  presides  at 
all  meetings  of  the  council,  supervises  all  de- 
partments, but  has  no  veto  power.  The  vice- 
president  is  superintendent  of  the  department 
of  accounts.  Each  measure  passed  must  receive 
the  signature  of  the  mayor  or  those  of  two 
councilmen. 

The  council  exercises  all  functions  of  owner- 
ship, all  executive,  judicial  and  administrative 
power  for  the  city.  There  are  five  departments : 

I.     Public  affairs — under  the  supervision  of  the  mayor. 
II.     Accounts  and  finance — under  the  supervision  of  the 
.vice-president. 

III.  Public  safety.  \  ,-,     ,       -    .,  , 
___      „,                in..                  I  &ach   of   these   under 

IV.  Streets  and  public  improve-  f  .  .         , 

^^^  V      the  supervision  of  a 

T.     ' 


ments. 

_r      _     ,          j       iv  1       councilman. 

V.     Parks  and  public  property. 


The  mayor's  department  is  determined  by  the 
charter.  A  councilman  is  assigned  to  each  of 
the  other  four  departments  by  a  vote  of  the 
council.  All  minor  offices  are  filled  by  the 
council.  Salaries  are  on  the  following  scale: 

•„-„„,,.«.  Compensation  Compensation 

for  mayor  for  councilman 

25,000  to  40,000  $2,500.00  $1,800.00 

40,000  to  60,000  $3,000.00  $2,500.00 

Over  60,000  $3,500.00  $3,000.00 

[186] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

The  following  special  provision  is  made  for 
franchises:  "No  franchise  or  rigfht  to  occupy 
or  use  the  streets,  highways,  bridges  or  public 
places  in  any  city  shall  be  granted,  renewed  or 
extended  except  by  ordinance,  and  every  fran- 
chise or  grant  for  interurban  or  street  railways, 
gas  or  water  works,  electric  light  or  power 
plants,  heating  plants,  telegraph  or  telephone 
systems,  or  other  public  service  utilities  within 
said  city,  must  be  authorized  or  approved  by  a 
majority  of  the  electors  voting  thereon  at  a  gen- 
eral or  a  special  election,  as  provided  in  section 
776  of  the  Code." 

The  council  appoints  three  civil  service  commis- 
sioners, each  to  hold  office  for  six  years.  Their 
terms  of  office  so  to  expire  that  one  is  appointed 
biennially.  All  appointees  of  the  council  are 
examined  by  these  civil  service  officers,  except 
commissioners  appointed  by  the  council  for 
special  service  and  unskilled  labor. 

All  appointments  are  made  with  reference  to 
fitness  and  efficiency  and  not  because  of  political 
affiliations.  Great  care  is  exerted  to  prevent 
city  officials  from  using  their  position  for  per- 
sonal gain  at  the  expense  of  the  city.  None 
except  firemen  and  policemen  can  accept  free 
transportation.  All  forms  of  influence  or  com- 
pulsion brought  to  bear  on  employees  is  for- 
bidden.1 

1See  John  J.  Hamilton's  "Government  by  Commission; 
or,  The  Dethronement  of  a  City  Boss." 

[187] 


MODERN    CITIES 

The  council  prints  each  month  an  itemized 
statement  of  all  receipts  and  expenses  of  the 
city  and  a  summary  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
council  for  the  preceding  month. 

Provision  is  made  for  the  recall,  the  removal 
of  an  elective  officer.  A  petition  demanding 
such  a  removal,  and  stating  the  reasons  must  be 
signed  by  electors  equal  to  twenty-five  per  cent 
of  the  total  vote  cast  for  all  candidates  for  the 
office  of  mayor  at  the  last  election.  When  this 
is  done  and  the  names  are  found  to  be  those 
of  bona  fide  electors  an  election  may  be  held. 
The  name  of  the  person  or  persons  whom  the 
petitioners  wish  to  have  fill  the  offices  appear 
on  the  ballot  together  with  the  name  of  the 
person  sought  to  be  removed.  This  latter  name 
must  appear  on  the  ballot  even  when  the  con- 
sent of  the  official  himself  has  not  been  obtained. 

The  electors  may  initiate  an  ordinance  by  a 
petition  signed  by  electors  equal  to  twenty-five 
per  cent  of  all  votes  cast  for  all  the  candidates 
for  mayor  at  the  last  election.  After  the  pe- 
tition has  been  properly  filed  the  council  may 
(a)  Pass  the  ordinance  within  twenty  days 
after  the  certification  by  the  clerk  of  the  legal- 
ity of  the  petition  or  (b)  the  council  may  call 
a  special  election  unless  a  general  election  is 
fixed  within  ninety  days  after  the  certification, 
when,  of  course,  it  could  be  placed  before  the 
electors.  Any  ordinance  which  is  enacted  by 

[188] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

the  vote  of  the  electorate  can  only  be  repealed 
in  the  same  manner.  Special  elections  are 
limited  to  one  in  six  months. 

No  ordinance  passed  by  the  council  shall  go 
into  effect  until  the  expiration  of  ten  days.  If 
during  this  period  a  petition  be  filed  by  the 
twenty-five  per  cent  generally  required,  protest- 
ing against  putting  the  ordinance  into  effect,  it 
shall  not  go  into  effect.  The  council  may  then 
reconsider  the  ordinance.  If  it  is  repealed,  that 
ends  the  matter;  but  if  it  is  not  entirely  re- 
pealed, a  special  election  may  be  called  to  con- 
sider it. 

After  a  city  has  been  governed  by  the  com- 
mission plan  for  more  than  six  years,  it  may 
reconsider  its  form  of  government.  This  is  done 
by  filing  a  petition  with  the  usual  twenty-five 
per  cent  of  signatures,  after  which  it  can  be 
submitted  to  the  electorate. 

The  Des  Moines  plan  has  the  main  features 
of  most  commission  plans  which  have  been  since 
adopted.  The  Galveston  plan  had  left  pri- 
maries in  the  hands  of  the  politicians  and  had 
failed  to  provide  for  the  initiative,  referendum 
and  recall.  It  will  be  readily  seen  that  a  fun- 
damental notion  in  the  commission  plan  is  the 
separation  of  municipal  government  from  the 
control  of  state  and  national  politics.  The  city 
should  be  managed  like  a  private  corporation, 
or  a  well-regulated  household.  It  needs  all  the 

[189] 


MODERN    CITIES 

skill,  business  acumen  and  experience  demanded 
by  a  private  corporation.  The  managers  are 
placed  in  power  by  the  citizens  to  perform  for 
them  the  service  of  managing  the  city,  and  they 
have  a  right  to  demand  that  the  service  be  well 
rendered.  So  long  as  cities  are  governed  on 
party  lines,  party  preference  and  prejudice,  the 
division  of  spoils  among  the  victors  and  their 
henchmen,  the  utilization  of  public  office  for 
private  gains,  consequent  extravagant  and  in- 
efficient methods  will,  of  course,  obtain.  The 
commission  form,  concentrating  responsibility 
in  a  few  men,  making  each  commissioner  re- 
sponsible for  a  definite  department,  enabling 
electors  through  the  checks  of  the  initiative,  ref- 
erendum and  recall  to  scrutinize  carefully  the 
work  of  the  council,  the  ordinances  and  fran- 
chises and  to  remove  inefficient  or  corrupt  ad- 
ministrators, is  certainly  a  way  out  of  the  dis- 
graceful manner  in  which  our  municipalities 
have  been  managed.  What  it  did  for  Galveston 
it  is  already  doing  for  hundreds  of  municipal- 
ities. It  is  not  a  theoretical  speculation,  but  a 
very  practical  method  of  common  sense  and 
efficient  management. 

It  is  rather  beside  the  mark  to  say  the  com- 
mission form  is  undemocratic.  This  question 
was  raised  and  carried  to  the  supreme  court  of 
Iowa,  which  decided  in  the  case  of  Eckerson  vs. 
the  City  of  Des  Moines  that  it  was  a  true  form 

[190] 


of  representative  government.  It  abolishes  the 
ward  system.  The  mayor  and  commissioners 
are  elected  at  large.  This  does,  away  with  sec- 
tional feeling  and  prevents  one  part  of  the  city 
from  claiming  an  undue  share  of  consideration. 
Naturally  accurate  bookkeeping,  civil  service 
and  other  efficient  methods  are  introduced. 
,  Publicity  also  is  a  splendid  corrective.  The 
citizen  knows  what  is  being  done  and  how  the 
public  money  is  expended.  This  intensifies  his 
interest  in,  and  increases  his  pride  for,  his  com- 
munity. It  has  a  tendency  to  check  graft  and 
inefficiency.  The  managers  of  any  city  under 
any  plan  will  bear  watching.  For  no  scheme 
in  itself  is  a  panacea.  Good  men  may  serve  a 
city  well  under  a  bad  plan;  bad  men  will  serve 
a  city  ill  under  any  plan. 

The  referendum  on  franchises  is  one  of  the 
best  provisions  in  the  commission  plan.  Mil- 
lions of  dollars  in  the  form  of  valuable  fran- 
chises have  been  actually  stolen  from  the  cities 
of  the  United  States. 

The  commission  form  of  government,  take  ft 
by  and  large,  is  the  best  method  in  view  at 
present.  It  is  certainly  an  improvement  on  the 
federal  plan.  It  will  need  for  its  permanent 
establishment  and  value,  however,  the  educa- 
tion of  municipal  managers.  The  mayor  and 
commissioners  should  be  trained  men  in  munici- 
pal affairs.  But  to  procure  the,  services  of  such 

[191] 


MODERN    CITIES 

trained  men  by  popular  election,  with  an 
uncertain  tenure  of  office,  is  a  difficult  task. 
It  may  be  that,  the  easier  way  out  would  be  to 
adopt  the  German  system  of  training  mayors 
and  electing  them  for  life,  provided  an  ade- 
quate salary  and  pension  could  be  offered.  Or 
it  may  be  that  a  trained  band  of  civil  service 
men  can  do  the  work  of  the  municipality  under 
elective  officers.  They  could  continue  in  the 
service  through  successive  administrations  as 
they  do  at  present  in  Paris.  At  any  rate  the 
amount  of  legal  and  legislative  equipment  and 
administrative  ability  needed  in  the  management 
of  the  modern  municipality  cannot  be  furnished 
except  through  the  trained  man.  When  this 
can  be  brought  about,  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  commission  form  should  not  prove  to 
be  a  permanently  efficient  instrument  of  gov- 
ernment for  cities. 

To  sum  up:  The  advantages  claimed  for  the 
commission  form  are  that  it  gives  a  municipality 
the  benefit  of  being  governed  like  a  private  cor- 
poration under  personal  supervision  for  the 
good  of  all  citizens;  that  the  city  will  get  labor 
and  material  at  market  prices  and  will  get  what 
it  pays  for;  that  credit  can  be  given  to  the 
proper  commissioners  for  success ;  that  failure  for 
responsibility  rests  with  the  head  of  the  depart- 
ment; that  the  electorate  selects  its  own  officials 
without  direction  by  politicians;  that  the  "boss" 

[192] 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT 

grafter  and  political  machine  are  eliminated; 
that  it  admits  of  rapid  execution,  efficiency  and 
economy  in  all  administrative  affairs  and  is  well 
adapted  to  a  community  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury; and  that  it  abolishes  a  mass  of  useless  of- 
fices, sinecures  and  political  rewards,  and  sub- 
stitutes for  them,  method,  organization,  work 
and  honesty. 


[193] 


CHAPTER   X 

MUNICIPAL  HOME  RULE 

A  CITY  should  be  autonomous  to  the  highest 
degree  consistent  with  the  sovereignty,  unity 
and  well-being  of  the  state.  That  is  the  ideal 
involved  in  the  term  "municipal  home  rule." 
Nearly  all  close  observers  of  the  problems  of 
municipal  government  are  agreed  that,  in  purely 
local  matters,  a  city  should  have  the  undisputed 
right  of  control,  but  wide  differences  of  opinion 
are  expressed  as  to  just  what  constitutes  the 
local  affairs  of  a  city.  Such  differences  of  opin- 
ion have  proved  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of 
effective  legislation  dealing  with  this  subject. 
A  clearer  conception  of  the  place  of  the  city  in 
the  state  and  nation  is  needed. 

In  our  country  sovereignty  rests  in  the  people 
themselves.  In  national  affairs  such  sovereignty 
is  vested  in  all  the  people  and  is  exercised  by  the 
election  of  a  president  and  congress  with  power 
under  the  Constitution  to  perform  the  necessary 
functions  of  national  government.  In  the  sep- 
arate states  sovereignty  in  state  affairs  rests  with 
the  people  residing  in  the  state  and  is  exercised 

[194] 


MUNICIPAL   HOME   RULE 

by  them  when  they  elect  executives,  legisla- 
tors and  judges  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the 
state.  The  relation  of  the  state  to  the  nation 
has  been  the  subject  of  much  controversy  ever 
since  the  federal  Constitution  was  written  and 
was  one  of  the  points  of  dispute  that  led  to  the 
Civil  War.  Even  now,  questions  like  that  of 
legislation  with  respect  to  aliens  in  California 
bring  the  state  and  nation  more  or  less  into 
conflict.  It  is  generally  conceded  that  the 
United  States  is  a  nation,  not  a  confederation, 
and  that  the  power  of  deciding  what  are  state, 
and  what  are  national  functions  resides  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The 
relation  of  a  city  to  the  state  in  which  it  is 
located  is  not  so  well  defined  as  the  relation  of 
the  state  to  the  nation.  It  is  recognized  that  a 
city  has  matters  to  deal  with  that  concern  no  one 
outside  the  city.  It  Is  just  as  clear  that  in  other 
matters  the  functions  of  a  city  constitute  a 
vital  part  of  the  functions  of  the  state.  Sov- 
ereignty in  a  city  with  respect  to  all  local  mat- 
ters inherently  resides  in  the  people  living  in  the 
city.  The  fundamental  principle  of  a  republi- 
can form  of  government  is  violated  by  the  as- 
sertion that  the  state  legislature  is  supreme  in 
the  purely  local  affairs  of  a  city.  We  are  aware 
that  state  legislatures  have  frequently  assumed 
complete  sovereignty  over  all  the  affairs  of  cities. 
In  so  far  as  they  have  meddled  with  local  mat- 

[195J 


MODERN    CITIES 

ters,   however,    they   have   departed    from   the 
true  democratic  basis  of  government. 

The  inherent  right  of  local  self-government  is 
based  on  the  following  considerations: 

1.  The  people  residing  in  a  city  are  the  only 
ones  who  have  an  intimate  knowledge  of  local 
conditions.     They  know  better  than  any  legis- 
lature  can   possibly   know   what   changes   and 
improvements  are  needed  in  the  city  and  how 
these    changes    may    best    be    brought    about. 
Every  city  community  has  its  peculiar  problems. 
The  customs,  habits  and  ideals  of  the  people 
of  one  city  may  be  unlike  those  of  any  other 
city.     Legislation  that  is  pleasing  to  one  may 
be  offensive  to  another.     With  knowledge  of 
conditions  should  go  power  to  change  them. 

2.  The  effect  or  operation  of  any  law  or  ordi- 
nance in  relation  to  local  affairs  is  felt  directly 
by  the  people  of  the  city,  and  little  or  not  at 
all  by  people  residing  elsewhere  in  the  state ;  e.g. 
it  is  a  matter  of  vital  importance  to  a  munici- 
pality that  its  streets  should  be  properly  laid 
out  and  well-paved,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  little 
or  no  concern  to  citizens  living  in  rural  districts 
remote  from  such  city. 

3.  The  people  of  a  city  must  pay  all  local 
expenses.      No   state   legislature,   even   though 
willing  to  interfere  in  the  local  matters  of  cities, 
has  been  rash  enough  to  provide  for  a  general 
state  tax  to  pay  for  local  improvements.  A  prop- 

[196] 


MUNICIPAL    HOME    RULE 

osition  for  such  a  tax  would  naturally  be  met 
with  ridicule.  The  levying  of  such  a  tax,  how- 
ever, would  involve  no  greater  injustice  than 
the  interference  of  state  legislatures  in  purely 
local  city  affairs. 

The  principle  here  laid  down  is  not  in  accord 
with  the  generally  accepted  theory  of  the  rela- 
tion of  the  state  to  the  city,  but  it  is  not  without 
support  in  legal  decisions  and  in  the  opinions  of 
able  students  of  constitutional  law.  Amasa  M. 
Eaton,  in  a  learned  article  on  the  "origin  of 
municipal  incorporation  in  England  and  in  the 
United  States,"  published  in  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Twenty-fifth  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
American  Bar  Association,  discussed  the  two 
opposite  views  concerning  the  relation  of  the 
city  to  the  state.  In  an  argument  based  on  a 
careful  study  of  the  history  of  municipal  incor- 
poration he  showed  that  towns  and  cities  are 
endowed  with  limited  sovereign  power  in  the 
sense  that,  while  subject  to  general  laws  passed 
by  the  state  legislature  and  to  the  right  of  the 
legislature  to  mold  and  direct  their  powers,  they 
have  a  constitutional  right,  expressed  or  implied, 
to  manage  their  own  local  affairs  free  from  the 
interference  or  control  of  the  legislature.  The 
same  view  was  held  by  Judge  Cooley  of  the 
supreme  court  of  Michigan  in  an  opinion 
(People  vs.  Detroit,  28  Mich.,  228),  in  which 
he  declared  unconstitutional  an  act  of  the  legis- 

[197] 


MODERN    CITIES 

lature  of  that  state  compelling  the  people  of 
Detroit  to  establish  a  public  park.  Judge 
Cooley  said: 

"Whoever  insists  upon  the  right  of  the  state 
to  interfere  and  control  by  compulsory  legisla- 
tion the  action  of  the  local  constituency  in  mat- 
ters exclusively  of  local  concern  should  be  pre- 
pared to  defend  a  like  interference  in  the  action 
of  private  corporations  and  of  natural  persons. 
.  .  .  The  one  law  would  rest  upon  the  same 
fallacy  as  the  other,  and  the  reasons  for  oppos- 
ing and  contesting  it  would  be  the  same  in  each 
case.  And  while  it  may  be  entirely  possible  that 
in  any  particular  instance  the  interference  would 
be  beneficial  to  the  person  or  community  whose 
rights  are  invaded,  it  is  not  to  be  overlooked  that 
any  interference  to  compel  a  person  to  submit  to 
something  for  his  good  may  be  made  use  of  as  a 
precedent  to  compel  him  at  some  future  time 
to  extortion  and  plunder  .  .  .  the  motive 
for  outside  interference  will  very  likely  be  some- 
thing besides  a  desire  to  do  good  to  a  community 
in  which  the  parties  interfering  have  no  personal 
interest,  unless  of  a  sentimental  nature,  and 
whose  burdens  they  are  not  to  share  or  enjoy- 
ments participate  in.  All  such  matters  are  left 
to  those  whose  interests  will  prompt  them  to  act 
with  prudence,  and  who,  because  of  their  inter- 
est, and  because  they  relate  to  matters  that  must 
come  under  their  own  view  and  observation 

[198] 


MUNICIPAL    HOME    RULE 

they  are  presumptively  best  qualified  to  decide 
upon." 

In  an  earlier  case  the  same  court  held  that 
an  act  of  the  state  legislature  appointing  a 
permanent  board  of  water  commissioners  for 
Detroit  was  unconstitutional  on  account  of  its 
conflict  with  the  principle  of  local  self-govern- 
ment. 

While  the  other  view  that  the  state  is  abso- 
lutely supreme  over  the  city  in  local  as  well  as 
general  affairs  undoubtedly  has  the  greater 
weight  of  authority  for  its  support,  it  is  in  con- 
flict with  the  present  trend  of  public  opinion 
and  is  likely  to  be  superseded  by  the  more  demo- 
cratic conception. 

In  order  to  obtain  freedom  from  legislative 
interference  which  in  many  cases  has  proved  so 
disastrous  to  the  well-being  of  cities,  recourse 
has  been  had  to  constitutional  conventions,  and 
constitutional  provisions  have  been  obtained  lim- 
iting the  power  of  state  legislatures  to  regulate 
the  affairs  of  cities.  Such  provisions  fall  into 
two  classes:  the  one  giving  power  to  cities  to 
draft  their  own  charters,  the  other  requiring  leg- 
islatures to  provide  for  the  government  of  cities 
by  general  laws. 

Missouri  was  the  first  city  in  the  Union  to  in- 
corporate in  its  constitution  provisions  permit- 
ting cities  to  draft  their  own  charters.  The  Mis- 
souri constitution  of  1876  provided  that  any  city 

[199] 


MODERN    CITIES 

in  the  state  of  more  than  100,000  population  may 
frame  a  charter  for  its  own  government;  that 
an  election  may  be  called  by  the  municipal  as- 
sembly for  the  election  of  thirteen  freeholders 
to  frame  a  charter,  the  draft  framed  by  them  to 
be  submitted  to  the  qualified  voters  of  the  city; 
that  such  charter  shall  provide,  among  other 
things,  for  a  chief  executive  and  two  houses  of 
legislation  (St.  Louis  may  have  one  house),  one 
of  which  shall  be  elected  at  large ;  that  such  char- 
ters shall  always  be  in  harmony  with  and  sub- 
ject to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  state. 

St.  Louis  and  Kansas  City  have  drafted  their 
own  charters  in  accordance  with  these  pro- 
visions. While  the  result  in  these  two  cities  has 
been  to  give  them  a  certain  freedom  from  legis- 
lative interference,  the  charters  adopted  have 
been  subject  to  much  criticism.  The  Civic 
League  of  St.  Louis,  an  influential  organiza- 
tion, has  recently  issued  a  report  discussing 
home  rule  provisions  for  that  city.  The  con- 
clusions of  the  committee  who  drafted  the  re- 
port indicate  clearly  the  difficulties  for  which  a 
remedy  is  sought:  The  committee  recommends 
that  the  police,  excise  and  election  officials  should 
under  no  circumstances  be  elected,  but  ap- 
pointed; that  the  police  and  election  machinery 
should  not  be  placed  under  the  same  appoint- 
ing power;  that  wherever  the  appointing  power 
is  given  to  the  mayor  of  St.  Louis,  in  departments 

[200] 


MUNICIPAL    HOME    RULE 

in  which  the  state  has  a  large  interest,  the  power 
of  removal  should  be  lodged  in  the  governor  as 
well  as  the  mayor;  that,  while  the  excise  com- 
missioner might  well  be  appointed  by  the 
mayor  in  the  same  manner  as  the  police  com- 
missioner, he  should  certainly  be  removable  by 
the  governor  for  the  same  reasons  which  prevail 
in  the  case  of  the  police  commissioner;  and  that 
the  election  commissioners  should  be  appointed 
by  the  governor  as  at  present.  These  conclusions 
deal  with  governmental  functions  in  which  both 
state  and  city  are  vitally  interested,  and  in  which 
a  conflict  of  authority  is  most  likely  to  be  found. 

The  second  state  of  the  union  to  adopt  a  con- 
stitutional provision  permitting  cities  to  draft 
their  own  charters  was  California.  This  state 
in  1879  incorporated  in  its  constitution  the  fol- 
lowing provisions : 

Any  city  containing  25,000  inhabitants  may 
frame  a  charter  for  its  own  government  consist- 
ent with  the  constitution  and  general  laws  of 
the  state. 

Fifteen  freeholders  are  to  be  elected  for  this 
purpose. 

The  charter  so  framed  must  receive  the  ap- 
proval of  a  majority  of  the  qualified  city  elec- 
tors voting  thereon. 

The  charter  must  then  be  submitted  to  the 
legislature  and  be  approved  before  it  becomes 
the  organic  law  of  the  city.  The  legislature 

[201] 


MODERN    CITIES 

may  approve  or  reject,  but  not  alter  the  pro- 
posed charter. 

The  first  provision  was  modified  in  1886  to 
include  cities  of  10,000  population,  and  in  1889 
to  include  cities  of  more  than  3,500  population. 
An  amendment  to  the  state  constitution  in  1896 
provided  that  city  charters,  "except  in  muni- 
cipal affairs,"  should  be  subject  to  and  con- 
trolled by  general  laws.  The  charters  drafted 
by  the  cities  of  California  have  thus  far  been 
accepted  by  the  legislature.  The  amendment 
of  1896  was  passed  to  prevent  interference  by 
the  state  legislature  in  the  affairs  of  the  city. 
The  construction  of  this  amendment  by  the 
courts  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion.  The 
prevailing  opinion  of  the  highest  court  of  the 
state  held  that  the  term  "municipal  affairs"  re- 
ferred to  the  matters  covered  by  the  city  char- 
ter. Other  matters  affecting  the  city  might  be 
regulated  by  general  law.  The  decisions  de- 
fining what  are,  and  what  are  not,  municipal 
affairs  are  of  more  than  local  interest.  The  fol- 
lowing have  been  held  by  the  state  courts  of  Cali- 
fornia to  be  municipal  affairs: 

The  regulation  of  the  mode  and  manner  of 
passing  city  ordinances. 

Provision  for  direct  legislation  by  the  people 
through  the  initiative. 

The  opening,  widening  and  vacating  of 
streets. 

[202] 


MUNICIPAL    HOME   RULE 

Maintenance  in  the  streets  of  telegraph,  tele- 
phone poles  and  wires. 

Issuance  of  bonds  for  the  acquisition  and  im- 
provement of  parks  and  boulevards,  and  perma- 
nent municipal  buildings  and  improvements. 

The  levying  and  collecting  of  license  taxes  for 
purposes  of  revenue. 

The  regulation  of  municipal  elections. 

Provisions  for  the  removal  of  municipal  offi- 
cers, such  as  the  chief  of  police. 

The  establishment  of  a  municipal  pension  sys- 
tem. 

The  regulation  of  the  pay  of  firemen  and  po- 
licemen. 

The  supplying  of  water  to  outside  territory, 
when  incidental  to  making  provision  for  the 
city's  own  supply. 

The  establishment  of  a  city  board  of  health, 
superseding  a  board  of  health  provided  for  by 
the  political  code. 

Supervision  and  control  of  the  sanitary  condi- 
tion of  the  city. 

The  following  have  been  held  by  the  same 
court  to  be  general  or  state  affairs  and  not 
"municipal  affairs": 

Annexation  of  territory. 

Establishment  of  courts  and  control  of  crimes. 

The  regulation  of  the  public  school  system. 

"The  school  system,"  says  Justice  Shaw,  "is  a 
matter  of  general  concern  and  not  a  municipal 

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MODERN    CITIES 

affair."  A  modification  of  this  decision  is  found 
in  another  case  in  which  it  was  held  that  the 
"education  of  the  youth  is  properly  included 
within  the  functions  of  a  municipal  government. 
As  school-houses  are  essentially  aids  in  the  pro- 
motion of  education,  their  regulation  is  but  in- 
cidental to  the  maintenance  of  the  schools  and 
falls  as  completely  within  the  functions  of  a 
municipal  government  as  does  the  erection  of  a 
hospital  for  its  indigent  poor,  or  buildings  for 
its  fire  engines;  and  the  school-houses  when  so 
erected  are  as  fully  municipal  buildings  as  are 
its  engine-houses  and  hospital  buildings." 

The  state  of  Washington  in  1889  adopted 
constitutional  provisions  relating  to  city  char- 
ters as  follows: 

Any  city  of  over  20,000  population  may 
frame  a  charter  consistent  with  the  constitution 
of  the  state. 

The  city  council  may  cause  an  election  to  be 
held  for  the  choice  of  fifteen  freeholders  to 
frame  a  charter. 

The  proposed  charter  must  be  approved  by 
a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of  the  city. 

Minnesota,  in  1896,  adopted  provisions  similar 
to  those  of  Missouri  except  that  any  city  or  vil- 
lage without  regard  to  the  number  of  inhabi- 
tants might  frame  its  own  charter.  It  was  pro- 
vided that  the  district  court  should  appoint  fif- 

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MUNICIPAL    HOME    RULE 

teen  freeholders  for  the  purpose  of  drafting  the 
charter  of  a  municipality. 

Colorado  in  1902  adopted  the  following  con- 
stitutional provisions : 

Denver  and  the  cities  of  the  first  and  second 
class  are  empowered  to  frame  their  own  char- 
ters. 

A  special  election  may  be  called  by  the  city 
council  to  elect  twenty-one  taxpayers,  to  con- 
stitute a  charter  convention,  and  to  draft  a 
charter. 

The  charter  prepared  by  the  convention  must 
receive  a  majority  vote  of  the  citizens  before 
being  adopted. 

If  the  charter  fails  of  adoption  another  char- 
ter convention  shall  be  elected.  Five  per  cent 
of  the  qualified  voters  of  a  city  can,  by  petition, 
compel  the  council  to  call  an  election  for  choos- 
ing a  charter  convention. 

In  1906,  Oregon  amended  its  constitution  by 
adopting  the  following  home-rule  provisions: 

"The  legislative  assembly  shall  not  enact, 
amend,  or  repeal  any  charter  or  act  of  incorpo- 
ration for  any  municipality,  city  or  town.  The 
legal  voters  of  every  city  and  town  are  hereby 
granted  powers  to  enact  and  amend  their  mu- 
nicipal charter,  subject  to  the  constitution  and 
criminal  laws  of  the  state  of  Oregon." 

In    1907,    Oklahoma   adopted    constitutional 

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MODERN    CITIES 

home-rule  provisions  similar  to  those  of  Col- 
orado. They  were: 

Any  city  of  more  than  2,000  population  may 
frame  its  own  charter. 

Two  freeholders  elected  from  each  ward  con- 
stitute the  board  of  freeholders.  An  election 
may  be  called  by  the  city  council  or  it  may  be 
called  by  the  mayor  upon  a  twenty-five  per  cent 
petition  submitted  to  him. 

A  majority  vote  is  required  for  ratification. 

In  1908,  Michigan  adopted  a  new  constitu- 
tion containing  the  following  provisions: 

The  legislature  shall  provide  by  general  law 
for  the  incorporation  of  cities  and  villages. 

Under  these  general  laws  the  electors  of  each 
city  and  village  shall  have  the  power  and  au- 
thority to  frame,  adopt  and  amend  its  charter 
and  to  pass  laws  and  ordinances  relating  to  its 
municipal  concerns,  subject  to  the  constitution 
and  general  laws  of  the  state. 

In  1912,  a  home-rule  amendment  to  the  con- 
stitution was  adopted  by  the  people  of  Ohio,  and 
in  1913  several  of  the  cities  of  the  state  held 
charter  conventions. 

In  many  states  there  are  constitutional  provi- 
sions forbidding  the  legislature  to  pass  any  spe- 
cial act  creating  or  altering  a  municipal  corpora- 
tion, and  directing  that  general  laws  be  passed 
for  the  incorporation  of  municipalities.  These 
provisions  have  been  evaded  by  the  passage  of 

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MUNICIPAL    HOME    RULE 

laws,  general  in  form,  but  applying  only  to  a 
particular  city;  the  legislature  of  Ohio,  for  ex- 
ample, in  1868,  passed  a  general  law  providing 
"that  the  city  council  of  any  city  of  the  first 
class  having  a  population  exceeding  150,000 
shall  have  the  power  to  issue  the  bonds  of  such 
city  in  any  sum  not  exceeding  $150,000,  to  be 
used  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  Eggle- 
ston  Avenue  sewer."  The  provision,  of  course, 
applied  to  Cincinnati  only. 

In  the  constitution  of  the  State  of  New  York 
adopted  in  1894,  the  legislature  is  not  forbidden 
to  pass  special  laws  relating  to  cities,  but  any 
act  that  does  not  apply  to  all  cities  in  a  class 
must  be  submitted  to  the  common  council  and 
mayor  of  each  city  affected  for  approval  or  dis- 
approval. In  case  the  common  council  or 
mayor  of  a  city  disapproves  the  act,  it  must  be 
repassed  by  the  legislature  before  becoming  a 
law,  but  even  with  these  restrictions  the  New 
York  state  legislature  has  been  unusually  active 
in  passing  legislation  affecting  cities.  Accord- 
ing to  a  summary  prepared  by  Mr.  J.  Hampton 
Dougherty  and  published  in  his  recent  pamphlet 
on  "The  Struggle  for  Municipal  Freedom,"  the 
state  legislature  between  1897  and  1901  passed 
fifty-eight  separate  acts  amending  the  charter  of 
Greater  New  York  of  1897.  Between  the  re- 
vision of  1901  and  the  fall  of  1907,  the  legisla- 
ture amended  267  sections  of  the  charter  of  1901 

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MODERN    CITIES 

and  added  forty-six  new  sections.  Between 
1897  and  1907  it  passed  650  separate  and  special 
acts,  each  directly  affecting  the  property,  govern- 
ment or  rights  of  the  city  of  Xew  York.  In 
some  single  years  as  high  as  600  separate  bills 
relating  to  the  city  government  of  Xew  York 
have  been  submitted  to  the  state  legislature. 
The  evils  resulting  from  such  constant  appeals 
to  the  legislature  for  special  laws  are  apparent. 
In  order  to  do  away  with  this  mass  of  spe- 
cial legislation,  a  home-rule  bill  was  passed  by 
the  legislature  of  1913  which  sets  forth  in  detail 
the  powers  and  functions  of  the  cities  of  the 
state.  As  this  measure  was  the  result  of  a  most 
careful  consideration  of  the  sphere  of  city  gov- 
ernment, by  the  Municipal  Government  Asso- 
ciation of  the  state,  we  quote  in  full  the  powers 
enumerated  by  it  as  rightfully  belonging  to  the 
city: 

General  Grant  of  Power*. — Every  city  is  granted  power 
to  regulate,  manage  and  control  its  property  and  local  af- 
fairs, and  is  granted  all  the  rights,  privileges  and  jurisdic- 
tion necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  such  power  into 
execution.  No  enumeration  of  powers  in  this  or  any  other 
law  shall  operate  to  restrict  the  meaning  of  this  general 
grant  of  power,  or  to  exclude  other  powers  comprehended 
within  this  general  grant. 

Grant  of  Specific  Power*. — Subject  to  the  constitution 
and  general  laws  of  this  state,  every  city  is  empowered: 

1.  To  contract  and  be  contracted  with  and  to  institute, 
maintain  and  defend  any  action  or  proceeding  in  any  court. 

2.  To  take,  purchase,  hold  and  lease  real  and  personal 

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MUNICIPAL    HOME    RULE 

property  within  and  without  the  limits  of  the  city,  and  ac- 
quire by  condemnation  real  and  personal  property  within 
the  limits  of  the  city,  for  any  public  or  municipal  purpose, 
and  to  sell  and  convey  the  same,  but  the  rights  of  a  city 
in  and  to  its  water-front,  ferries,  bridges,  wharf  property, 
land  under  water,  public  landings,  wharves,  docks,  streets, 
avenues,  parks,  and  all  other  public  places,  are  hereby  de- 
clared to  be  inalienable,  except  in  the  cases  provided  for 
by  subdivision  seven  of  this  section. 

3.  To  take  by  gift,  grant,  bequest  or  devise  and  to  hold 
and  administer  real  and  personal  property  within  and  with- 
out the  limits  of  the  city,  absolutely  or  in  trust  for  any 
public  or  municipal  purpose,  upon  such  terms  and  condi- 
tions as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  grantor  or  donor  and  ac- 
cepted by  the  city. 

4.  To  levy  and  collect  taxes  on  real  and  personal  prop- 
erty for  any  public  or  municipal  purpose. 

5.  To  become  indebted  for  any  public  or  municipal  pur- 
pose and  to  issue  therefor  the  obligations  of  the  city,  to 
determine   upon  the   form   and   the  terms   and  conditions 
thereof,  and  to  pledge  the  faith  and  credit  of  the  city  for 
payment  of  principal  and  interest  thereof,  or  to  make  the 
same  payable  out  of  or  a  charge  or  lien  upon  specific  prop- 
erty or  revenues;  to  pay  or  comprise  claims  equitably  pay- 
able by  the  city,  though  not  constituting  obligations  legally 
binding  on  it,  but  it  shall  have  no  power  to  waive  the  de- 
fense of  the  statute  of  limitations  or  to  grant  extra  com- 
pensation to  any  public  officer,  servant  or  contractor. 

6.  To    establish    and    maintain    sinking    funds    for   the 
liquidation  of  principal  and  interest  of  any  indebtedness, 
and  to  provide  for  the  refunding  of  any  indebtedness  other 
than  certificates  of  indebtedness  or  revenue  bonds  issued  in 
anticipation  of  the  collection  of  taxes  for  amounts  actually 
contained  or  to  be  contained  in  the  taxes  for  the  year  when 
such  certificates  or  revenue  bonds  are  issued  or  in  the  taxes 
for  the  year  next  succeeding,  and  payable  out  of  such  taxes. 

7.  To   lay  out,   establish,   construct,   maintain,   operate, 
alter  and  discontinue  streets,  sewers  and  drainage  systems, 

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MODERN    CITIES 

water-supply  systems,  and  lighting  systems,  for  lighting 
streets,  public  buildings  and  public  places,  and  to  lay  out, 
establish,  construct,  maintain  and  operate  markets,  parks, 
playgrounds  and  public  places,  and  upon  the  discontinuance 
thereof  to  sell  and  convey  the  same. 

8.  To  control  and  administer  the  water-front  and  water- 
ways of  the  city  and  to  establish,  maintain,  operate  and 
regulate  docks,  piers,  wharves,  warehouses  and  all  adjuncts 
and  facilities  for  navigation  and  commerce  and  for  the 
utilization  of  the  water-front  and  waterways  and  adjacent 
property. 

9-  To  establish,  construct  and  maintain,  operate,  alter 
and  discontinue  bridges,  tunnels  and  ferries,  and  approaches 
thereto. 

10.  To   grant   franchises   or  rights   to  use  the  streets, 
waters,  water-front,  public  ways  and  public  places  of  the 
city. 

11.  To  construct  and  maintain  public  buildings,  public 
works  and  public  improvements,  including  local  improve- 
ments, and  assess  and  levy  upon  the  property  benefited 
thereby  the  cost  thereof,  in  whole  or  in  part. 

12.  To  prevent  and  extinguish  fires  and  to  protect  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city  and  property  within  the  city  from 
loss  or  damage  by  fire  or  other  casualty. 

13.  To  maintain  order,  enforce  the  laws,  protect  prop- 
erty and  preserve  and  care  for  the  safety,  health,  comfort 
and  general  welfare  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  vis- 
itors thereto;  and  for  any  of  said  purposes  to  regulate  and 
license  occupations  and  businesses. 

14.  To  create,  maintain  and  administer  a  system  or  sys- 
tems for  the  enumeration,  identification  and  registration,  or 
either,  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  visitors  thereto,  or 
such  classes  thereof  as  may  be  deemed  advisable. 

15.  To  establish,  maintain,  manage  and  administer  hos- 
pitals,   sanitaria,    dispensaries,    public    baths,    almshouses, 
workhouses,  reformatories,  jails  and  other  charitable  and 
correctional  institutions;  to  relieve,  instruct  and  care   for 
children   and  poor,  sick,  infirm,   defective,  insane   or  in- 

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MUNICIPAL   HOME   RULE 

ebriate  persons;  to  provide  for  the  burial  of  indigent  per- 
sons; to  contribute  to  and  supervise  charitable,  eleemosy- 
nary, correctional  or  reformatory  institutions  wholly  or 
partly  under  private  control. 

16.  To  establish  and  maintain  such  institutions  and  in- 
strumentalities for  the  instruction,  enlightenment,  improve- 
ment, entertainment,  recreation  and  welfare  of  its  inhabi- 
tants  as   it   may   deem   appropriate   or  necessary   for  the 
public  interest  or  advantage. 

17.  To  determine  and  regulate  the  number,  mode  of  se- 
lection,  terms   of  employment,  qualifications,  powers   and 
duties  and  compensation  of  all  employees  of  the  city  and 
the  relations  of  all  officers  and  employees  of  the  city  to 
each  other,  to  the  city  and  to  the  inhabitants. 

18.  To  create  a  municipal  civil  service;  to  make  rules 
for  the  classification  of  the  offices  and  employments  in  the 
city's  service,  for  appointments,  promotions  and  examina- 
tions, and  for  the  registration  and  selection  of  laborers. 

19-  To  regulate  the  manner  of  transacting  the  city's 
business  and  affairs  and  the  reporting  of  and  accounting  for 
all  transactions  of  or  concerning  the  city. 

20.  To  provide  methods  and  provide,  manage  and  ad- 
minister funds  for  pensions  and  annuities  for  and  retire- 
ment of  city  officers  and  employees. 

21.  To  investigate  and  inquire  into  all  matters  of  con- 
cern to   the   city   or  its   inhabitants,   and   to   require  and 
enforce  by  subpoena  the  attendance  of  witnesses  at  such 
investigations. 

22.  To   regulate  by   ordinance  any  matter  within  the 
powers  of  the  city,  and  to  provide  for  the  enforcement  of 
ordinances    by    legal    proceedings,    to    compel    compliance 
therewith,  and  by  penalties,  forfeitures  and  imprisonment 
to  punish  violations  thereof. 

23.  To  exercise  all  powers  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  powers  granted  to  the  city. 

Public  or  Municipal  Purpose  and  General  Welfare  De- 
fined.— The  terms  "public  or  municipal  purpose,"  and  "gen- 
eral welfare,"  as  used  in  this  article,  shall  each  include  the 

[211] 


MODERN    CITIES 

promotion  of  education,  art,  beauty,  charity,  amusement, 
recreation,  health,  safety,  comfort  and  convenience,  and 
all  of  the  purposes  enumerated  in  the  last  preceding  sec- 
tion. 

This  Grant  in  Addition  to  Existing  Powers. — The  pow- 
ers granted  by  this  article  shall  be  in  addition  to  and  not  in 
substitution  for,  all  the  powers,  rights,  privileges  and  func- 
tions existing  in  any  city  pursuant  to  any  other  provision 
of  law. 

The  foregoing  grant  of  municipal  rights  and 
powers  is  probably  more  comprehensive  than  any 
previously  made  by  an  American  state.  While 
the  city,  by  the  terms  of  the  law,  is  limited  by  the 
general  laws  of  the  state,  it  is  absolved  from  the 
necessity  of  seeking  by  special  law  the  right  to 
act  within  such  limitations.  The  ability  of  the 
city  to  act  wisely  on  important  matters  on  its 
own  initiative  and  without  the  special  permis- 
sion of  the  state  legislature  is  recognized  to  an 
extent  hitherto  unknown  in  the  legislation  of  the 
state. 

In  the  matter  of  the  ownership  and  manage- 
ment of  public  utilities,  the  law  is  conservative. 
It  is  probable  that  any  measure  giving  cities  of 
the  state  the  right  to  operate  all  of  their  public 
utilities  would  have  been  defeated.  The  vested 
interests  are  not  ready  to  relinquish  their  hold 
on  the  public  services  of  the  cities,  and  the  cities 
are  politically  too  weak  to  force  the  issue. 

Another  serious  omission  in  the  law  is  the 
failure  to  grant  the  city  the  same  rights  with 

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MUNICIPAL    HOME    RULE 

respect  to  its  officers  as  are  granted  with  respect 
to  employees. 

From  the  nature  of  its  position  as  a  part  of 
the  state  and  nation,  a  city  cannot  have  abso- 
lute freedom  to  govern  itself.  The  only  entirely 
free  cities  in  the  history  of  the  world  have  been 
those,  like  the  former  city  states  of  Italy  and 
Germany,  that  owed  allegiance  to  no  other 
power.  The  modern  city  must  not  only  per- 
form the  functions  peculiar  to  its  own  well- 
being,  but  take  its  part  in  the  affairs  of  a  state. 
This  involves  the  payment  of  state  taxes,  the 
enforcement  of  state  laws,  the  maintenance  of  a 
system  of  education  in  harmony  with  the  state 
system,  the  establishment  and  enforcement  of 
health  regulations  subject  to  the  direction  of  the 
state,  and  the  maintenance  of  courts  forming  a 
coherent  part  of  the  judicial  system  of  the  state. 
There  is,  however,  little  need  to  emphasize  the 
superiority  of  the  state  as  the  governing  power, 
for  the  tendency  in  American  legislation  until 
recently  has  always  been  to  minimize  the  in- 
herent rights  of  the  city. 

The  presence  of  a  large  city  in  a  state,  such 
as  Greater  New  York  in  New  York  state, 
Philadelphia  in  Pennsylvania,  Chicago  in  Illi- 
nois, leads  to  serious  complications.  The  prob- 
lems of  these  large  cities  are  so  unlike  the  prob- 
lems of  smaller  cities  and  rural  districts  that  it 

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MODERN    CITIES 

becomes  extremely  difficult  to  legislate  for  all 
by  general  law.  In  New  York  state  the  domi- 
nance of  tbe  Democratic  party  in  the  metropolis 
and  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  rest  of  the 
state  has  further  complicated  matters.  Under 
circumstances  such  as  these  it  becomes  an  open 
question  whether  the  formation  of  a  separate 
city  state  would  not  be  preferable  to  continuing 
the  present  relations. 

The  position  of  a  great  city  in  a  state  differs 
in  some  important  respects  from  that  of  smaller 
cities.  The  great  city  is  abundantly  supplied 
with  energy,  intelligence  and  wealth.  It  has  no 
need  of  expert  state  assistance  in  order  properly 
to  conduct  its  affairs.  The  smaller  cities,  on 
the  other  hand,  often  need  such  supervision  and 
assistance.  The  state  having  a  metropolis  in  its 
territory,  therefore,  may  wisely  absolve  such  city 
from  the  supervision  exercised  in  matters  of 
education,  health  and  finance  over  smaller  cities 
of  the  state. 

The  American  method  of  exercising  control 
over  cities  by  means  of  legislatures  and  courts 
is  generally  considered  less  satisfactory  than  the 
British  method  of  administrative  control.  The 
English  city,  when  it  wishes  to  undertake  any 
enterprise  not  covered  by  its  charter,  does  not 
apply  to  Parliament  but  to  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board.  This  body  investigates  the  matter 
and  sanctions  or  disapproves  the  action  pro- 

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MUNICIPAL    HOME    RULE 

posed.  The  Local  Government  Board,  being 
a  permanent  body  and  having  in  its  employ  ex- 
perts in  the  various  lines  of  municipal  activity, 
is  able  to  guide  with  a  high  degree  of  wisdom 
the  important  undertakings  of  towns  and  cities. 
In  France  and  Germany  also  the  state  exer- 
cises its  control  over  cities  through  administra- 
tive officers.  The  system  in  these  countries  is 
more  complicated  than  in  England,  but  is  based 
on  the  same  general  principles.  As  elsewhere 
pointed  out,  English  and  continental  cities  con- 
trol and  operate  their  public  utilities  to  a  much 
greater  degree  than  American  cities.  Their 
success  in  these  matters  has  been  due  in  no  small 
measure  to  their  freedom  from  legislative  inter- 
ference and  to  the  assistance  given  by  the  admin- 
istrative officers  of  the  state. 

The  growing  importance  of  the  city  as  a  fac- 
tor in  American  life  will  soon  be  recognized  in 
constitutions  guaranteeing  to  pur  cities  as  large 
a  measure  of  freedom  as  the  cities  of  England 
and  Germany  now  enjoy. 


[215] 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE    SELECTION    OF    CITY    OFFICEBS     AND 
EMPLOYEES 

THE  problem  of  choosing  officials  and  em- 
ployees to  carry  on  the  public  business  of  a  city 
is  one  that  has  engrossed  the  attention  of  mu- 
nicipal reformers  for  many  years.  It  is  gener- 
ally agreed  that  public  officials  should  be  honest, 
courteous,  industrious,  and  well  trained  for  the 
work  they  are  to  perform;  but  there  are  diverse 
opinions  in  regard  to  the  best  method  of  choos- 
ing such  officials.  Until  recently,  the  most  com- 
mon method  was  to  elect  all  the  principal  offi- 
cers of  a  city  at  the  general  election  by  vote  of 
the  people.  The  subordinate  officers  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  elected  ones  for  political  or  per- 
sonal reasons.  This  system,  as  a  rule,  secured 
officers  and  employees  that  were  fairly  honest, 
but  rarely  well  trained  for  the  work  they  were 
called  on  to  perform.  From  the  standpoint  of 
managers  of  political  parties  the  system  was 
well-nigh  perfect.  Putting,  as  it  did,  all  the  mu- 
nicipal offices  at  the  disposal  of  the  success- 
ful party,  it  was  a  great  aid  to  party  solidarity. 

[216] 


SELECTION    OF    CITY   OFFICERS 

As  the  city  election  was  commonly  held  at  the 
same  time  as  the  state  and  national  elections, 
the  interest  of  the  people  was  centered  on  the 
larger  issues,  and  the  city  was  made  to  furnish 
places  for  office-seekers  who  had  no  claim  on 
public  favor,  and  who  would  not  have  been 
elected  if  their  election  had  been  the  only  ques- 
tion before  the  people.  A  group  of  spoilsmen 
having  thus  secured  the  elective  positions,  in  turn 
proceeded  to  fill  the  subordinate  places  with 
party  workers  of  their  own  sort.  Under  such 
conditions  the  emoluments  of  the  offices  became 
the  rewards  for  political  activity,  and  the  aim  of 
the  office-holders  was  to  increase  salaries  and  to 
lessen  work.  The  effect  of  this  system  on  the 
management  of  public  affairs  in  many  cities  is 
only  too  well  known. 

In  order  to  overcome  the  evils  of  the  spoils 
system  and  to  secure  efficiency  in  public  office, 
the  merit  system  has  been  evolved.  The  aim 
of  this  system  is  to  fill  places  in  the  civil  service, 
whether  under  city,  state  or  national  govern- 
ment, with  the  most  capable  men  desiring  em- 
ployment. It  is  hoped  to  make  the  civil  service 
a  profession  and  thus  to  insure  expert  service 
in  all  places  filled  by  this  system.  The  fitness 
of  a  person  for  a  public  office  is  determined,  not 
by  the  service  he  has  rendered  his  party,  not  by 
his  friendship  for  the  appointing  officer,  or  a 
political  boss,  but  by  his  character,  scholarship, 

[217] 


MODERN    CITIES 

and  previous  training  for  the  work  in  question. 
Such  merit  and  fitness  are  determined  by  com- 
petitive examinations,  which  are  supposed  to 
test  fairly  the  ability  of  the  candidates  to  per- 
form the  work.  The  examinations  usually  con- 
sist of  three  parts:  a  preliminary  statement  of 
personal  qualifications,  a  written  test,  and  a 
statement  of  education  and  experience.  The 
last  two  elements  are  rated  competitively,  and 
the  candidates  passing  the  examination  above  a 
fixed  minimum  standard,  usually  seventy-five 
per  cent,  are  placed  in  the  order  of  their  stand- 
ing on  an  eligible  list.  From  such  a  list  the  Ap- 
pointing officer  selects  a  person  for  the  position. 
Sometimes  the  rules  permit  the  appointing  offi- 
cer to  select  any  person  on  the  eligible  list; 
sometimes  the  person  selected  must  be  one  of  the 
three  highest  on  the  list,  and  sometimes  the 
appointing  officer  is  obliged  to  take  the  person 
standing  highest. 

The  merit  system  was  introduced  in  the  fed- 
eral service  of  the  United  States  in  1884,  and 
in  the  New  York  State  service  in  the  same  year. 
Soon  after  the  New  York  State  Civil  Service 
Commission  was  organized,  municipal  civil  serv- 
ice commissions  were  appointed  in  all  of  the 
larger  cities  of  the  state,  and  from  time  to  time 
the  service  has  been  extended  to  the  smaller 
municipalities.  Massachusetts,  Wisconsin,  and 
some  other  states  and  many  separate  municipali- 

[218] 


SELECTION    OF    CITY   OFFICERS 

ties  have  also  introduced  the  system  to  a  consid- 
erable extent. 

As  nearly  thirty  years  have  elapsed  since  the 
beginning  of  the  system  in  the  federal  service, 
a  fair  criticism  of  results  may  now  be  made. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  subordinate 
service  of  the  federal  departments  has  been 
greatly  improved  by  the  application  of  the  merit 
system.  It  is  probable  also  that  the  clerical 
service  in  the  New  York  State  departments  has 
become  more  efficient  under  this  system,  and  a 
like  comment  would  justly  apply  to  the  mu- 
nicipal civil  service  of  New  York  City  and  Bos- 
ton. When  we  come  to  the  smaller  municipalities, 
the  same  favoraye  conclusions  cannot  be  drawn. 
It  would  not  be  far  from  the  truth  to  say  that 
the  merit  system,  in  the  second  and  third  class 
cities  of  New  York  State,  at  least,  is  in  the  main 
a  farce  and  fraud.  The  conduct  of  the  exami- 
nations in  these  cities  is  usually  placed  in  the 
hands  of  an  incompetent  clerk ;  examinations  are 
not  carefully  prepared  and  often  are  insufficient 
tests  of  the  candidate's  ability  to  hold  a  position. 
The  rating,  as  a  rule,  is  performed  by  poorly 
paid  and  incompetent  help,  and  in  many  cases 
the  examination  is  simply  a  farcical  confirmation 
of  appointments  already  agreed  upon.  The 
breakdown  of  the  merit  system  in  the  second 
and  third  class  cities  is  not  due  to  any  inherent 
fault  in  the  system,  but  to  the  fact  that  the  sys- 

[219] 


MODERN    CITIES 

tern  cannot  be  made  to  work  under  conditions 
that  obtain  in  these  cities.  As  already  indi- 
cated, the  system  presupposes  efficient  tests,  fair 
competition,  and  a  willingness  on  the  part  of  the 
appointing  officers  to  avail  themselves  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  system;  where  these  are  lack- 
ing, the  system  naturally  collapses. 

In  smaller  cities,  under  the  federal  plan  of 
government,  boss  rule  and  the  patronage  sys- 
tem are  everywhere  dominant.  The  civil  service 
law  is  looked  upon  as  a  hindrance  rather  than  a 
help,  and  consequently  every  effort  is  made  to 
circumvent  the  law  without  actually  violating  it. 
The  greater  number  of  desirable  places  are  clas- 
sified as  "exempt,"  and  given  directly  to  party 
workers.  The  subordinate  places,  which  are  not 
so  eagerly  sought,  are  placed  in  the  competitive 
class,  and  the  favored  candidates  are  instructed 
to  take  the  examination.  While  there  may  be 
no  collusion  between  examiners  and  favored  can- 
didates, the  matter  is  usually  fixed  so  that  the 
persons  previously  agreed  upon  may  receive  the 
appointment.  It  is  safe  to  say  that,  in  party- 
governed  cities,  where  the  machine  is  well  or- 
ganized, no  one  can  be  appointed  to  a  competi- 
tive place  without  the  sanction  of  the  party 
leader.  If  it  should  happen  that  an  eligible  list 
containing  only  the  names  of  candidates  belong- 
ing to  the  minority  party,  or  none  of  the  favored 
class,  should  be  established,  it  is  probable  that 

[220] 


SELECTION    OF    CITY   OFFICERS 

no  appointment  would  be  made  from  the  list 
and  the  work  of  the  position  would  be  per- 
formed by  some  one  under  another  title. 

An  investigation  of  the  examinations  held  by 
the  municipal  civil  service  commission  of  a  city 
of  about  75,000  inhabitants  in  New  York  State, 
revealed  the  fact  that  while  examinations  were 
being  prepared  and  held  and  eligible  lists  writ- 
ten up,  the  papers  submitted  by  the  candidates 
had  nothing  to  do  with  their  position  or  standing 
on  the  eligible  list.  The  examiner  in  charge  of 
the  matter,  evidently  carrying  out  the  orders  of 
some  one  in  authority,  was  assigning  arbitrary 
ratings  to  the  candidates  and  arranging  them  on 
the  eligible  lists  in  the  order  best  suited  to  the 
purposes  of  the  dominant  political  party  or  the 
appointing  officer. 

Such  supreme  contempt  of  the  civil  service 
law  is  probably  exceptional,  but  it  is  safe  to 
assert  that  the  operations  of  the  merit  system  in 
the  smaller  cities  where  boss-rule  prevails  neither 
limits  the  spoilsmen  nor  secures  the  appointment 
of  efficient  public  servants. 

At  this  time,  when  the  tendency  is  to  reduce 
the  number  of  elective  officers  in  both  city  and 
state,  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  some 
other  more  efficient  system  of  appointment  be 
evolved.  The  advocates  of  the  short  ballot  take 
it  for  granted  that  the  merit  system  will  be  ap- 
plied in  selecting  subordinate  officers,  provided 

[221] 


MODERN    CITIES 

only  the  chief  officers  are  elected.  The  assump- 
tion has  little  basis  in  fact.  It  is  rightfully 
urged  that  the  long  ballot  enables  the  boss  to 
put  incompetents  in  the  minor  offices;  but  it 
makes  little  difference  whether  he  puts  them  in 
by  means  of  an  election  or  by  means  of  appoint- 
ment with  or  without  civil  service  laws.  A  party 
appointee  is  even  more  subservient  than  an 
elected  party  official,  as  the  former  owes  his 
place  directly  to  the  boss  and  can  be  removed  at 
the  will  of  the  boss,  while  the  latter  always  has 
the  voters  between  him  and  the  boss. 

If  we  can  eliminate  the  party  system  of  gov- 
ernment in  all  our  municipalities,  as  some  of  the 
commission-governed  cities  have  succeeded  in  do- 
ing; if  we  can  build  up  a  public  sentiment  that 
will  tolerate  nothing  but  the  highest  efficiency 
in  the  conduct  of  municipal  affairs,  the  appoint- 
ment problem  will  solve  itself.  In  the  mean- 
time, it  is  well  not  to  place  too  much  reliance  on 
the  merit  system  as  operated  by  spoilsmen,  nor 
to  hope  for  much  relief  from  the  short  ballot  in 
communities  where  the  party  system  is  domi- 
nant. 

The  methods  now  used  in  many  enterprising 
cities  in  selecting  school  superintendents,  prin- 
cipals and  teachers  point  the  way  to  a  rational 
solution  of  the  problem  of  choosing  experts  for 
every  branch  of  the  city  government.  When  a 
superintendent  of  schools  is  to  be  chosen  in  any 

[222] 


SELECTION    OF    CITY    OFFICERS 

up-to-date  municipality,  the  fact  becomes  widely 
known,  and  the  board  of  education  receives  ap- 
plications from  educators  far  and  near.  The 
school  board  desires  and  the  public  demands  that 
the  best  available  man  be  chosen.  A  careful  in- 
quiry of  the  various  candidates  is  made,  and  the 
factors,  such  as  age,  health,  education  and  ex- 
perience, which  form  the  basis  of  the  candi- 
date's probable  success,  are  carefully  considered. 
Neither  politics,  personal  favoritism  nor  geog- 
raphy enters  into  the  choice.  The  net  result  is 
the  selection  of  a  competent  man.  The  Ger- 
man cities  use  practically  the  same  method  with 
equal  success  in  selecting  mayors  and  heads  of 
departments.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  method  could  be  extended  to  the  selec- 
tion of  all  the  experts  needed  in  the  various  de- 
partments of  city  government.  If  the  heads  of 
departments  were  selected  on  account  of  their 
expert  knowledge  and  proved  efficiency,  there 
would  be  little  difficulty  about  filling  the  less 
important  positions,  whether  civil  service  exami- 
nations were  held  or  not. 

After  all,  the  people  of  a  municipality  must 
decide  whether  they  will  have  national  party 
rule  or  not.  If  they  decide  to  have  such  party 
rule,  they  must  have  the  spoils  system  for  the 
sake  of  party  solidarity.  There  is  no  escape. 
The  city  that  chooses  the  one  must  suffer  the 
other.  It  may  have  the  short  ballot  and  direct 

[223] 


MODERN    CITIES 

primaries  and  civil  service  commissions;  the  re- 
sult will  be  the  same.  If  the  city  is  given  over 
to  the  party,  the  party  will  use  it  to  strengthen 
itself.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  people  decide 
to  adopt  the  commission  form  of  government, 
the  German  plan  or  some  other  non-partizan 
system  of  city  management,  they  will  have  every 
opportunity  to  man  the  several  departments 
with  the  most  capable  men  obtainable. 


[224] 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE   CONTROL   OF   MUNICIPAL   PUBLIC   SERVICE 
CORPORATIONS 

THE  control  of  public  service  corporations  is 
the  most  difficult  problem  in  the  management  of 
American  cities.  The  principal  reason  is  the 
fact  that  the  corporations  are  trying  to  control 
the  cities.  In  some  cities,  citizens  seem  to  have 
the  upper  hand,  while  in  others  the  corporations 
elect  city  officials  and  control  the  affairs  of  the 
municipality  to  suit  their  pleasure.  It  seems 
almost  incomprehensible  that  companies  engaged 
in  performing  public  service  in  a  municipality 
could  secure  a  majority  of  the  electorate  to  vote 
in  their  favor,  but  in  many  American  cities  cor- 
porations and  their  allies  are  able  to  win  elec- 
tion after  election.  This  remarkable  result  is 
achieved  in  the  face  of  bad  service  and  unpopu- 
larity on  the  part  of  the  corporations.  Allied 
with  the  public  service  corporations  seeking  con- 
trol, are  the  banks  and  financial  interests  in  gen- 
eral, and  in  the  employ  of  this  combination  of 
interests  is  one  or  both  of  the  political  bosses 
that  apparently  manage  the  city.  The  despoil- 

[225] 


MODERN    CITIES 

ers  of  the  lower  class,  those  of  the  dive,  the 
gambling-den,  the  dance-hall  and  the  brothel, 
are  brought  in  as  silent  partners  in  the  general 
conspiracy  to  secure  privilege,  power  and  pelf 
at  the  expense  of  the  public. 

The  strength  of  a  secret  combination  of  this 
kind  on  election  day  is  remarkable.  The  corpo- 
rations and  the  banks  control  their  employees. 
The  boss  controls  the  office-holders  and  their 
families  and  makes  them  work  for  the  party 
ticket.  The  partners  of  the  "shady"  world  can 
be  relied  on  to  deliver  the  votes  of  all  who  en- 
joy the  ill-gotten  gains  and  of  many  who  find 
pleasure  in  these  resorts.  The  ticket  of  the 
"combine"  always  has  an  air  of  respectability 
and  usually  contains  a  duly  accredited  member 
of  each  of  the  principal  religious  denominations 
of  the  city.  Care  is  also  taken  that  the  various 
sections  of  the  city  are  fairly  represented.  The 
"combine"  is  also  careful  to  make  provision  for 
newspaper  support  and  to  supply  workers  in 
the  various  wards  with  the  necessary  sinews  of 
war.  Before  workers  thus  armed,  the  great 
body  of  floaters  fall  easy  victims.  At  the  polls, 
we  find  lined  up  by  the  skill  of  managers  of 
the  "interests,"  corporations,  banks,  breweries, 
gambling-houses,  dives,  and  the  great  body  of 
floaters,  together  with  office-holders  and  regular 
supporters  of  one  of  the  great  parties.  Prac- 
tically all  of  these  vote  for  the  ticket  of  the 

[226] 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

"combine,"  and  the  election  is  won.  After  the 
election,  the  organ  of  the  "interests"  proclaims 
in  great  head-lines  that  the  people  have  spoken; 
that  democracy  has  won  another  signal  triumph; 
that  the  party  is  endorsed  by  the  people  and 
that  the  city  is  guaranteed  another  period  of  san- 
ity and  conservatism  in  the  management  of  its 
affairs.  All  of  which  means  that  the  public- 
service  corporations  and  their  allies  have  again 
gotten  the  privilege  for  a  term  of  years  of  run- 
ning things  to  their  own  satisfaction. 

A  few  years  ago  corporations  seeking  fran- 
chises or  monopolies  in  a  city,  would  bribe,  if 
it  seemed  necessary,  city  councilmen  or  other 
city  officials.  That  was  a  crude  and  dangerous 
thing  to  do.  Bribery  has  always  had  an  un- 
pleasant sound  to  Americans,  and  whenever  it 
has  been  discovered,  the  consequences  have  been 
distasteful  to  the  parties  concerned.  The  mod- 
ern method  of  working  through  a  party  leader 
and  having  him  expend  the  money  necessary  to 
accomplish  the  desired  end,  is  found  to  work 
much  better.  Money  given  for  campaign  funds 
is  just  as  effectual  in  securing  privilege  as 
money  used  to  bribe  public  officials,  and  no  seri- 
ous consequences  are  likely  to  follow.  The  peo- 
ple have  been  very  slow  in  discovering  the  game 
that  is  being  worked  by  a  combination  of  big 
business  and  politics  in  the  name  of  party  loy- 
alty and  good  city  government.  When  the 

[227] 


MODERN    CITIES 

iniquitous  combination  is  discovered,  the  people 
usually  find  it  too  strongly  entrenched  to  be 
dislodged. 

The  corruption  of  municipalities  by  public 
service  corporations  is  far-reaching.  It  affects, 
not  only  the  character  of  the  public  service,  but 
every  department  of  the  city.  Growth  is 
checked,  few  public  improvements  are  made, 
sanitary  precautions  are  neglected  and  disease 
and  crime  increase.  Corporations  may  accom- 
plish their  ends  and  grow  rich  by  despoiling  the 
city,  but  the  people  are  gradually  growing 
wiser.  Those  inside  the  unfortunate  city  may 
not  be  able  to  change  matters  or  get  out,  but 
those  on  the  outside  are  likely  to  hesitate  before 
coming  in.  Whenever  a  choice  is  possible  to  the 
person  taking  up  his  residence  in  a  city,  or  en- 
gaging in  business  in  a  city,  he  will  naturally 
go  to  the  town  that  offers  the  most  attractive 
conditions  of  life.  Few  men,  except  through 
necessity,  will  choose  to  take  up  their  abode  in 
a  corporation-ridden,  boss-cursed  community. 
As  the  progressive  young  people  of  such  a  town 
will  seek  their  fortunes  elsewhere,  the  failure 
of  the  town  to  grow  is  readily  comprehended. 
One  may  almost  pick  out  the  cities  owned  by 
the  public  service  corporations  by  a  study  of 
the  census  statement  of  comparative  growth, 
birth-rates  and  death-rates.  There  may  be  other 
things  besides  corporate  domination  that  will  kill 

[228] 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

a  town,  but  there  is  no  one  thing  that  does  it 
so  effectually  or  so  often. 

It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  students  of 
city  life  in  America  are  giving  heed  to  this  great 
question  of  securing  adequate  public  service  at 
reasonable  rates  and  of  keeping  the  control  of 
such  utilities  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 

Methods  of  Control 

There  are  four  principal  methods  of  dealing 
with  public  service  corporations  in  a  city. 

First,  the  policy  of  non-regulation.  Under 
this  system,  the  corporation  is  allowed  to  con- 
duct its  business  in  the  same  way  as  an  ordinary 
firm.  It  uses  the  public  streets  without  limita- 
tions, except  that  traffic  on  the  street  must  not 
be  unnecessarily  interfered  with.  It  fixes  its 
own  rates  and  extends  or  limits  its  service  as  it 
desires.  The  only  redress  the  public  has,  in  case 
the  service  rendered  by  the  corporation  is  not 
satisfactory,  is  to  refrain  from  using  the  service 
and  to  obtain  a  substitute ;  or  the  public  may  at- 
tempt to  influence  the  corporation  by  arousing 
public  opinion  in  favor  of  better  service. 
Whether  the  corporation  responds  to  the  appeal 
of  the  public  or  not,  usually  depends  on  the  prob- 
ability of  added  profit  in  case  the  desired  im- 
provement or  change  is  made.  It  is  clear  that  the 
influence  that  the  public  is  thus  able  to  exert  is 
uncertain  and  inadequate.  If  the  public  service 

[229] 


rendered  by  the  corporation  was  of  such  a 
nature  that  it  could  be  accepted  or  left  alone  at 
will,  the  income  of  the  corporation  would  largely 
depend  upon  the  satisfaction  that  the  public  de- 
rived from  the  service  rendered.  Most  public 
service,  however,  is  not  of  such  a  nature.  The 
people  of  a  city  are  compelled  to  use  the  water 
furnished  by  the  water-supply  system.  They 
are  practically  obliged  to  use  the  gas  furnished 
by  the  municipal  gas-works.  They  must  pa- 
tronize the  municipal  street-railway,  or  suffer 
great  inconvenience.  They  must  use  the  local 
telephone  service,  or  resort  to  primitive  office 
methods.  The  company  rendering  services  such 
as  these  has  the  public  at  its  mercy.  If  not 
restricted  by  law  or  franchise  regulations,  it 
may  charge  for  its  service  all  the  traffic  will 
bear,  and  may  render  such  service  as  it  deems 
most  practicable.  The  policy  of  non-regulation 
has  been  thoroughly  tested  in  many  American 
cities  and  has  always  been  found  wanting. 

An  unrestricted  monopoly  always  works  an 
injury  to  the  public.  The  temptation  to  man- 
agers of  public  service  corporations  to  enrich 
themselves  at  the  public  expense  is  too  great  to 
be  resisted.  Under  modern  conditions,  the  con- 
venience, comfort  and  life  of  the  people  of  a 
city  depend  to  no  small  extent  on  the  way  the 
public  work  of  the  city  is  done.  Bad  water 
brings  with  it  disease  and  deafh;  bad  gas  may 

[230] 


PUBLIC   SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

injure  the  health  of  its  consumers  and  cause 
great  inconvenience;  a  poorly  managed  trolley 
system  means  discomfort,  demoralization  of 
business  and  unnecessary  destruction  of  life  and 
limb.  As  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  public 
welfare  that  its  public  service  be  rendered  in  an 
efficient  manner,  non-regulation  must  give  way 
to  a  better  method. 

Second,  the  policy  of  competition.  Free  and 
open  competition  in  all  lines  of  business  where 
such  competition  can  be  free  and  open,  is  found 
to  promote  improvement  and  insure  good  serv- 
ice to  the  people  at  reasonable  prices.  Ren- 
dering public  service,  however,  is  a  business  not 
subject  to  control  by  competition.  In  the  main, 
such  service  is  monopolistic.  It  is  true,  there 
may  be  a  certain  amount  of  competition  between 
street  railway  companies,  gas  companies,  elec- 
tric companies,  telephone  companies  and  others, 
but  it  is  evident,  from  the  very  nature  of  these 
various  lines  of  business,  that  the  number  of 
companies  using  the  streets  of  a  city  at  the  same 
time  must  be  strictly  limited.  No  city  would 
be  rash  enough  to  permit  two  street-car  com- 
panies to  run  competing  tracks  side  by  side  on 
the  same  street,  and  few  will  permit  the  laying 
of  competing  gas-mains  and  water-mains  in  the 
same  street,  or  allow  the  erection,  along  the 
same  curb,  of  poles  of  different  companies  for 
the  transmission  of  telephone  or  electric-light 

[231] 


MODERN    CITIES 

wires.  A  few  cities  have  been  foolish  enough 
to  give  franchises  to  several  different  companies 
to  use  its  streets,  but  in  almost  every  case  the 
competition  thus  fostered  has  failed  to  bring 
better  service  or  permanently  to  secure  lower 
rates.  It  is  generally  agreed  that,  as  a  regula- 
tive agency,  competition  between  public  service 
corporations  has  been  a  failure.  If  there  has 
resulted  a  cutting  of  rates  in  such  competition, 
it  has  usually  been  followed  by  inadequate 
service,  by  the  failure  of  the  weakest  corpora- 
tions, or  by  the  merging  of  the  competing  cor- 
porations into  one.  Even  in  private  business 
lines,  that  are  clearly  subject  to  competition,  we 
find  a  growing  tendency  toward  trade  agree- 
ments and  general  cooperation.  In  view  of  this 
marked  tendency  in  the  business  of  the  present 
day,  it  becomes  useless  to  consider  longer  the 
advisability  of  competition  as  a  means  of  regu- 
lating public  service  corporations. 

Third,  control  by  means  of  franchise  regula- 
tions and  agreements.  The  proposition  that  a 
city  should  make  a  fair  contract  with  a  corpora- 
tion wishing  to  use  its  streets  for  the  purpose  of 
rendering  service  to  the  general  public,  is  a  rea- 
sonable one.  It  would  seem  that  an  agreement 
might  be  entered  into  whereby  the  rights  of  the 
city  and  the  consuming  public  would  be  fully 
safeguarded  and  the  company  would  be  able  to 
conduct  its  business  without  great  risk,  and  with 

>  [  232  ] 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

a  fair  degree  of  profit.  Strange  to  say,  this  ap- 
parently simple  transaction  has  seldom  been 
successful.  The  greed  of  promoters,  the  selfish- 
ness of  investors  and  the  dishonesty  of  public 
officials,  have  too  often  combined  to  deprive  the 
city  of  its  natural  rights.  Long-term  or  perpet- 
ual franchises  have  been  granted  by  city  coun- 
cils with  apparently  no  realization  of  the  gravity 
of  the  thing  they  were  doing.  Hundreds  of 
American  cities  are  now  suffering  from  ill- 
advised  franchises  thus  granted,  and  no  ade- 
quate relief  for  the  situation  has  yet  been  de- 
vised. The  courts  usually  protect  the  property 
rights  of  corporations  regardless  of  the  inherent 
rights  of  the  community. 

The  granting  of  franchises  was  the  principal 
source  of  municipal  corruption  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago.  Everything  in  sight  was  gobbled 
up  as  the  new  era  of  electricity  was  ushered  in. 
So  thoroughly  was  the  thing  done  and  so  well 
for  the  corporations,  that  comparatively  little  in 
the  way  of  further  letting  of  franchises  or  con- 
trol of  service  was  left  to  the  city  authorities. 
If  city  franchises  were  granted  for  short  terms, 
or  could  be  terminated  if  the  service  rendered 
was  not  satisfactory,  there  would  be  a  possibil- 
ity of  effective  regulation  by  means  of  the  fran- 
chise, but  unfortunately  such  is  not  the  case. 
Probably  not  a  half  dozen  cities  in  America  have 
been  able  to  secure  adequate  control  of  its  pub- 

[233] 


MODERN    CITIES 

lie-service  corporations  by  means  of  franchise 
agreements. 

Although  modern  ideas  of  the  sacredness  of 
the  rights  of  the  public  in  the  streets  of  a  city 
and  in  the  control  of  public  service  are  gaming 
a  foothold  in  American  cities,  there  is  little  op- 
portunity to  exercise  these  rights  by  franchise 
agreements.  We  may  therefore  conclude  that, 
under  present  franchise  conditions,  we  cannot 
look  to  such  agreements  to  give  relief  from  un- 
satisfactory public  service. 

Fourth,  public  regulation,  or  control  by  pub- 
lic service  commissions.  For  many  years,  sev- 
eral states  of  the  United  States  have  had 
railroad  commissions  whose  duties  have  been  the 
regulation  of  railroads  operating  in  the  state. 
In  the  main,  the  work  of  these  commissions  has 
been  neither  efficient  nor  satisfactory  to  the 
public.  In  nearly  every  case,  the  commission 
has  become  an  asset  of  the  dominant  political 
party,  and  as  such  has  used  its  influence  to  keep 
the  corporations  in  line  for  the  party  rather 
than  to  require  them  to  give  efficient  service  to 
the  public.  In  recent  years,  however,  several 
states  have  adopted  a  more  comprehensive  and 
better-devised  plan  for  regulating  public  service 
corporations. 

The  State  of  New  York,  in  the  spring  of 
1907,  by  the  passage  of  what  is  known  as  the 
"Public  Service  Commissions  Law,"  adopted 

[  231  ] 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

the  most  elaborate  scheme  for  controlling  pub- 
lic utilities  ever  tried  in  America.  The  legisla- 
ture, by  this  act,  delegated  its  legislative  power 
relative  to  the  public  service  corporations  named 
in  the  act,  to  two  public  service  commissions, 
known  respectively  as  the  "Public  Service  Com- 
mission of  the  First  District"  and  the  "Public 
Service  Commission  of  the  Second  District." 
The  Public  Service  Commission  for  the  First 
District  was  given  jurisdiction  over  the  territory 
comprised  in  the  city  of  Greater  New  York,  viz., 
New  York,  Kings,  Queens,  and  Richmond  coun- 
ties. The  Public  Service  Commission  for  the  Sec- 
ond District  was  given  jurisdiction  over  the  re- 
mainder of  the  state.  Each  commission  consists 
of  five  men  appointed  by  the  Governor  with 
the  consent  of  the  Senate,  and  the  term  of  each 
commissioner  is  five  years.  To  the  commissions 
were  given  the  powers  previously  exercised  by 
the  state  railroad  commissioners,  the  commission 
on  gas  and  electricity,  and  the  state  inspector  of 
gas-meters,  and  to  the  Public  Service  Commis- 
sion of  the  First  District  were  given  powers 
previously  exercised  by  the  rapid  transit  railroad 
commissioners  of  New  York  City.  Other  func- 
tions not  previously  exercised  by  any  state  or 
local  authority  were  also  conferred  upon  the 
last  named  commission.  This  commission,  in 
describing  its  power  in  its  report  for  1907  (page 
8)  makes  this  statement: 

[235] 


MODERN    CITIES 

"This  commission  has  a  dual  character.  Upon  the  one 
hand,  it  has  most  full  and  complete  powers  of  regulation 
over  all  public  service  corporations;  upon  the  other,  it  has 
the  important  task  of  planning  and  constructing,  possibly 
also  of  equipping  and  operating,  rapid  transit  lines,  whether 
subway  or  elevated.  So  far  as  the  transportation  problem 
is  concerned,  therefore,  the  commission  has  two  strings  to 
its  bow.  It  may  build  subways,  as  its  predecessor,  the 
rapid  transit  board,  did,  and  it  may  order  existing  com- 
panies to  increase  their  service,  adjust  fares  and  freight 
rates,  improve  their  equipment,  etc.,  a  function  which 
neither  the  rapid  transit  board  nor  the  railroad  commis- 
sioners had  to  the  extent  which  this  commission  now  pos- 
sesses and  has  been  exercising  for  the  past  six  months." 

From  the  foregoing  statement  it  is  seen 
that  the  Public  Service  Commission  of  the  First 
District,  though  created  by  a  state  law  and  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor,  is  in  reality  a  city 
commission.  Its  jurisdiction  is  confined  to 
greater  New  York  and  the  problems  with  which 
it  deals  are  all  municipal  problems. 

The  Public  Service  Commission  of  the  Second 
District  has  a  wider  range  of  territory  to  deal 
with,  and  a  greater  variety  of  matters  to  super- 
vise. Its  power  in  no  case,  however,  extends  to 
the  construction  of  public  works.  While  most 
of  the  work  of  this  commission  relates  to  public 
utilities  in  the  cities  within  its  jurisdiction,  it 
also  has  authority  to  regulate  all  of  the  steam 
surface  railroads  and  electric  lines  in  the  terri- 
tory embraced  in  its  district.  In  the  law  of 
1907,  no  authority  was  given  the  commissioners 

[236] 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

over  telegraph  and  telephone  corporations.  An 
amendment  to  the  law  passed  in  1910  brought 
these  corporations  under  full  control  of  the  com- 
missioners and  increased  the  power  of  the  com- 
mission along  other  lines.  The  law  of  1907 
gave  the  commissions  power  to  fix  maximum 
rates  for  public  services.  The  amended  law  gives 
the  commission  authority  to  establish  a  schedule 
of  rates  for  the  different  kinds  of  service  ren- 
dered by  a  corporation.  For  example,  the  orig- 
inal law  limited  the  power  of  the  commission  in 
fixing  the  rates  of  gas  and  electric  corporations 
to  the  determination  of  the  maximum  rate.  Un- 
der the  present  law,  the  commission  may  estab- 
lish a  schedule  of  rates  for  different  classes  of 
service,  and  while  the  companies  are  permitted 
to  reduce  their  rates  below  those  fixed  by  the 
commission,  they  cannot  raise  them  without  the 
consent  of  the  commission.  The  commissions  are 
given  power  to  investigate  accidents,  to  order 
improvements  which  they  may  deem  necessary 
in  any  division  of  the  public  service  under  their 
jurisdiction,  to  authorize  or  to  refuse  to  author- 
ize bond  and  stock  issues  of  public  service  cor- 
porations, to  supervise  the  expenditure  of  money 
raised  by  such  issues,  to  require  a  uniform  sys- 
tem of  accounting  of  public  service  corporations 
of  like  character,  and  to  prosecute  through  their 
counsel  corporations  refusing  to  comply  with 
their  orders.  The  commissions  are  directed  to 

£237] 


MODERN    CITIES 

require  of  the  corporations  under  their  jurisdic- 
tion, an  annual  report  containing  information 
respecting  capital  stock,  bonded  and  other  in- 
debtedness, receipts  and  expenditures,  names 
and  salaries  of  officers,  dividends  paid  and  the 
character  of  the  plants  owned,  including  a  de- 
tailed list  of  the  assets. 

It  is  evident  that  these  public  service  commis- 
sions are  endowed  with  extraordinary  powers. 
Within  the  commissions  are  included  the  three 
divisions  of  government.  In  establishing  rates 
and  promulgating  rules  for  the  conduct  of  pub- 
lic service  corporations,  they  perform  a  dis- 
tinctly legislative  office.  In  devising  plans  for 
new  subways  and  in  letting  contracts  for  their 
construction,  or  in  testing  gas,  and  gas  and  elec- 
tric meters,  their  work  is  administrative.  In 
hearing  complaints,  making  investigations,  lis- 
tening to  arguments  on  disputed  points,  issuing 
orders  and  rendering  decisions,  their  functions 
are  judicial. 

The  weakest  point  in  this  method  of  control 
results  from  the  provision  of  the  constitution 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  which  gives  the  cor- 
porations the  right  of  appeal  to  the  state  courts 
and,  consequently  makes  the  commissions  a 
court  of  first  resort  rather  than  a  finality.  This 
limitation  placed  on  the  commissions'  work  by 
the  constitution  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  bar 
to  its  effectiveness.  The  commissions  are  better 

[238] 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

constituted  to  decide  justly  on  questions  relat- 
ing to  public  service  corporations  than  any  of 
the  courts  of  the  state,  and,  consequently,  it  is 
very  doubtful  if  the  right  of  appeal  does  hot 
tend  to  defeat  rather  than  to  establish  justice. 
The  right  of  appeal  to  the  courts  also  has  the 
effect  of  making  the  commission  unduly  de- 
liberative in  reaching  a  decision.  Fortunately, 
the  act  providing  for  the  commission  takes  the 
probability  of  court  appeal  into  account  and 
provides  that  cases  arising  under  the  act  shall 
have  the  preference  over  all  other  cases  (except 
election  cases)  before  the  court,  regardless  of 
their  position  on  the  calendar. 

These  commissions  have  now  been  in  opera- 
tion about  five  years.  They  have  organized 
elaborate  departments  and  have  employed  many 
experts  to  assist  them  in  their  work.  The  state 
legislature  has  generously  given  each  commis- 
sion a  large  fund  to  use  in  carrying  on  its  oper- 
ations. Each  commission  has  been  deluged  with 
work.  Complaints  relative  to  the  kind  of  serv- 
ice rendered  by  public  service  corporations  and 
the  treatment  of  their  patrons  have  come  in 
large  numbers  to  the  commissions,  and  so  far 
as  possible  the  commissions  have  investigated  the 
matters  presented  to  them.  Decisions  of  the 
commissions  with  respect  to  such  complaints 
have,  as  a  rule,  been  just  and  have  met  with  the 
approval  of  the  people.  In  nearly  every  case 

[239] 


MODERN    CITIES 

where  an  appeal  has  been  made  to  the  courts, 
the  decision  of  the  commission  has  been  upheld. 
Through  their  publications,  the  commissions 
have  given  the  people  an  opportunity  to  know 
the  status  of  the  business  of  the  various  public 
service  corporations.  In  so  doing  they  have 
protected  investors  and  have  enabled  the  people 
to  judge  of  the  justness  of  the  rates  they  are 
paying  for  service.  In  making  tests  of  the 
quality  of  gas  furnished  in  the  various  cities  of 
the  state,  and  in  testing  gas-meters  and  electric- 
meters,  the  work  of  the  commission  has  been 
very  satisfactory.  The  commission  of  the  sec- 
ond district  has  also  done  excellent  work  in  elimi- 
nating grade  crossings  and  in  requiring  the  use 
of  safety  appliances  on  steam-cars  and  street 
surface-cars. 

In  the  fixing  of  rates  the  commissions  have 
proceeded  very  cautiously  and  have  taken  the 
position  that  the  public  is  more  interested  in 
good  service  than  in  low  rates.  Judging  from 
the  accomplishments  of  the  commissions  thus 
far,  the  fixing  of  rates  will  prove  the  most  un- 
satisfactory phase  of  their  work.  Rate-making, 
at  best,  is  an  intricate  matter  and  it  is  extremely 
difficult  for  a  commission  to  determine  just  what 
will  be  the  effect  of  a  change  of  rates.  The 
public  sometimes  demands  the  impossible  and  the 
companies  are  likely  to  claim  more  than  is  just. 
As  the  companies  are  usually  in  a  better  posi- 

[240] 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

tion  to  employ  experts  than  is  the  public,  their 
side  of  the  matter  is  often  more  ably  presented 
to  the  commission,  and  as  the  fixing  of  a  low 
rate  by  the  commission  would  almost  inevitably 
result  in  transferring  the  points  of  contention 
from  the  commission  to  the  courts,  the  commis- 
sion would  naturally  be  inclined  to  deal  gently 
with  the  corporations.  Such  has  been  the  his- 
tory of  rate-making  bodies  throughout  the  coun- 
try. Owing  to  the  great  importance,  as  well 
as  the  difficulty  of  the  matter,  the  fixing  of  rates 
will  likely  prove  the  crucial  test  in  the  life  of 
public  service  commissions.  If  they  ultimately 
fail  in  this  respect,  the  public  must  have  recourse 
to  other  means  of  securing  public  service  at  a 
fair  price. 

Another  serious  danger  lies  in  the  path  lead- 
ing to  the  ultimate  success  of  the  public  service 
commissions.  The  position  of  commissioner 
pays  an  attractive  salary,  the  intention  of  the 
makers  of  the  law  being  to  induce  men  of  the 
highest  type  to  accept  positions  on  the  commis- 
sion. The  salary,  however,  is  just  as  attractive  to 
the  politician  as  to  the  capable  business  or  pro- 
fessional man,  and  the  probabilities  are  that  the 
majority  of  the  commissioners  appointed  will 
be  politicians  and  not  men  well  fitted  for  the 
position.  An  unscrupulous  politician,  if  elected 
governor,  could  fill  the  commissions  with  men 
of  his  own  type  and  could  use  the  commissions 

[241] 


MODERN   CITIES 

to  compel  corporations  to  pay  large  campaign 
funds  or  to  otherwise  support  the  party  in 
power.  The  New  York  State  Railroad  Com- 
mission, which  was  abolished  by  the  act  creating 
the  public  service  commissions,  was  a  decided 
failure  because  the  men  appointed  to  the  rail- 
road commission  had  no  particular  fitness  for 
the  work  they  were  called  upon  to  perform. 
Most  of  them  were  active  workers  in  their 
political  party  and  were  given  the  appointment 
either  as  a  reward  for  past  favors  or  as  a  re- 
tainer for  future  work.  This  railroad  com- 
mission was  in  existence  twenty-four  years,  but 
at  no  time  during  its  history  did  it  have  the  full 
confidence  of  the  people  or  of  the  railroads.  It 
did  some  good  work,  but  it  could  not  be  counted 
on  to  act  in  a  large  way  in  regard  to  any  mat- 
ters that  were  likely  to  influence  votes  for  any 
political  party. 

It  may  be  pessimistic  to  consider  the  prob- 
ability of  the  deterioration  in  character  of  the 
public  service  commissions  of  New  York  State 
as  well  as  those  recently  appointed  in  other 
states,  but  no  one  with  an  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  conduct  of  political  affairs  in  this  coun- 
try can  hope  for  the  long  continuance  in  office 
of  men  chosen  for  their  character  and  special 
fitness  and  who  do  not  render  political  service 
to  the  party  responsible  for  their  appointment. 
We  may  fondly  talk  of  the  merit  system  and  in- 

[242] 


PUBLIC   SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

dulge  the  hope  that  governors  will  act  with 
independence  and  wisdom  in  appointing  public 
service  commissions,  but  so  long  as  political 
parties  are  dominated  by  the  spoilsmen,  our  talk 
and  hope  are  likely  to  be  in  vain.  So  many 
governmental  commissions  and  departments 
have  been  wrecked  by  placing  incapable  and  un- 
principled men  at  their  head,  that  it  is  not 
unreasonable  to  suppose  that  public  service  com- 
missions would  be  likewise  affected. 

As  the  theory  underlying  the  establishment  of 
the  commissions  is  that  the  commission  shall  act 
as  a  body  of  arbitrators,  doing  absolute  justice 
to  the  public  as  well  as  to  the  corporations,  any 
body  of  men  moved  by  any  other  ideal  would 
naturally  fail  in  their  work.  The  time  may 
come  when  the  public  generally  and  the  man- 
agers of  corporations  will  see  clearly  that  abso- 
lute justice  is  the  ideal  to  be  aimed  at,  and 
there  may  be  general  cooperation  to  this  end, 
but  this  ideal  is  still  far  distant.  The  general 
attitude  of  the  public  and  the  public  service 
corporation  is  one  of  antagonism.  The  public 
often  asks  unreasonable  things,  and  the  corpora- 
tion is  often  not  willing  to  grant  reasonable 
demands.  The  only  hope  in  this  state  of  affairs, 
is  for  a  commission  imbued  with  the  idea  of 
justice  and  with  sufficient  courage  to  declare  it 
at  all  times. 

Since  the  establishment  of  the  New  York 

[243] 


MODERN    CITIES 

State  public  service  commissions,  other  states 
have  passed  similar  acts,  and  in  some  cities  the 
public  service  commission  is  a  municipal  body. 
Although  this  method  of  regulation  is  not  yet 
ideal  or  even  satisfactory,  it  is  considered  by 
many  the  most  practicable  that  can  be  adopted, 
and  we  look  for  its  further  extension. 

Municipal  Ownership 

If  a  city  or  state  cannot  secure  satisfactory 
control  of  its  public  service  corporations  it  may 
take  up  the  public  work  itself.  No  question 
relating  to  municipal  life  has  been  so  thoroughly 
discussed  as  that  of  municipal  ownership  of 
public  utilities.  Many  volumes  on  the  subject 
have  already  been  published,  and  as  there  are 
no  recent  developments  that  present  the  sub- 
ject in  a  new  light  there  is  no  excuse  for  more. 
The  special  committee  appointed  by  the  Na- 
tional Civic  Federation  in  1906  made  a  most 
comprehensive  study  of  the  subject  in  this  coun- 
try and  Europe  and  published  voluminous  re- 
ports of  their  findings.  While  the  committee  did 
not  entirely  agree,  their  report  as  a  whole  was 
strongly  in  favor  of  municipal  ownership. 

In  an  ideal  state  of  society,  we  can  conceive 
of  no  other  method  of  control  of  public  utilities. 
Work  in  which  the  whole  people  of  a  municipal- 
ity are  interested  should  naturally  be  performed 
by  the  people  acting  through  their  organized 

[244] 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

government.  There  is  certainly  nothing  ideal 
in  a  state  of  society  that  permits  the  individual 
to  enrich  himself  by  supplying  public  necessities 
at  monopolistic  prices.  It  has  often  been  pointed 
out  that  the  cost  of  public  service  is  the  same, 
whether  the  service  is  rendered  by  an  individual, 
a  private  corporation,  or  by  a  municipality. 
This  is  undoubtedly  true,  but  where  the  service 
is  rendered  by  an  individual,  or  a  private  cor- 
poration, the  public  not  only  must  pay  a  profit 
to  such  individual  or  corporation,  above  the  cost 
of  the  service,  but  it  also  loses  control  of  the 
means  of  improving  the  service. 

As  an  illustration,  take  a  city  water-supply 
system.  If  the  system  is  owned  by  a  private 
corporation,  such  corporation  may  refuse  to  ex- 
tend its  mains  to  supply  new  sections  of  the  city, 
and  no  matter  how  badly  the  public  may  wish 
the  mains  extended,  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
force  the  corporation  to  act.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  supply  system  is  owned  and  managed  by 
the  city,  the  extensions  can  be  made  without 
difficulty  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  citizens. 
Likewise,  in  the  management  of  other  public 
utilities,  such  as  street-car  systems,  gas  and  elec- 
tric supply  systems,  if  they  are  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  the  municipality  extensions  and  modi- 
fications to  meet  demands  may  be  made  at  any 
time.  Under  this  system  of  management,  the 
public  controls  its  own  business  and  may  de- 

[245  ] 


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velop  it  to  suit  its  own  needs.  It  can  take  not 
only  the  financial  aspect  of  the  service  into  con- 
sideration, but  the  sanitary  and  esthetic  aspects 
as  well.  A  private  corporation  is  concerned 
primarily  with  the  profits  it  is  able  to  derive, 
while  the  municipality  in  conducting  the  same 
business  is  concerned  with  the  effect  the  service 
will  have  upon  the  general  well-being  of  the 
citizens.  For  this  reason,  no  doubt,  most  cities 
have  taken  over  their  water-supply  systems,  the 
water-supply  being  so  closely  related  to  the 
health  of  the  people  that  public  opinion  would 
not  permit  of  its  exploitation  by  public  service 
corporations. 

In  European  cities,  public  ownership  of  pub- 
lic utilities  is  the  rule,  and  private  or  corporate 
ownership  of  public  utilities,  the  exception.  One 
can  take  a  trip  through  Italy,  Switzerland,  Ger- 
many and  France  without  riding  on  any  but 
state-owned  railways,  and  in  most  of  the  towns 
through  which  the  traveler  will  pass  he  will  find 
the  street-car  service,  as  well  as  the  gas  and 
electric  service,  entirely  owned  and  managed  by 
the  public.  He  will  also  find  the  telegraph  and 
telephone  service  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 
The  success  of  public  ownership  in  the  cities  of 
continental  Europe  is  no  longer  questioned.  In 
most  of  such  cities  no  other  method  of  manage- 
ment of  public  utilities  would  be  considered. 
While  public  ownership  has  not  always  brought 

[246] 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

progress  and  efficient  management,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that,  as  a  rule,  it  has  given  much  better  satis- 
faction than  private  ownership.  European  cities 
that  once  adopt  public  ownership  never  revert 
to  private  ownership. 

Germany  leads  the  world  in  the  management 
of  its  public  utilities,  and  it  is  not  improbable 
that  public  ownership  has  had  much  to  do  with 
the  splendid  development  that  has  taken  place 
in  recent  years  in  German  cities.  The  Germans 
have  acquired  the  habit  of  working  out  all 
their  problems  upon  scientific  principles.  They 
study  methods,  devices  and  plans,  and  do  not 
hesitate  to  adopt  those  that  prove  most  worthy. 
They  are  imbued  with  a  high  ideal  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  place  the  public  good  above  private 
advancement.  The  scholar,  the  engineer,  or 
superintendent  is  willing  to  serve  the  state  at 
a  reasonable  salary  and  finds  his  reward  in  the 
satisfaction  derived  from  promoting  the  public 
good. 

Public  ownership  in  America  has  not  proved 
altogether  satisfactory.  However,  so  far  as  we 
are  able  to  judge  from  printed  reports  con- 
cerning publicly  managed  and  privately  man- 
aged public  utilities  in  various  sections  of  the 
country,  there  is  no  reason  to  decry  public 
ownership.  It  seems  to  have  done  as  well  if  not 
better  than  private  ownership  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances. Public  ownership  in  America,  how- 

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ever,  is  a  failure  compared  with  public  owner- 
ship in  Germany,  just  as  municipal  government 
in  general  in  American  cities,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  commission  governed  cities,  is 
a  failure  compared  with  municipal  government 
in  German  cities. 

The  citizens  of  American  municipalities  have 
not  yet  learned  the  great  lesson  of  cooperation. 
American  cities  are  made  up  to  a  very  great 
extent  of  foreigners  coming  from  different  na- 
tionalities, and  of  young  men  coming  into  the 
city  from  the  farms.  The  foreigners  of  differ- 
ent nationalities  cannot  cooperate  with  each 
other  or  with  the  American  residents  of  the  city 
because  of  their  lack  of  a  common  language,  and 
because  most  of  them  are  imbued  with  the  idea 
of  personal  advancement.  The  young  men 
from  the  farms  lack  knowledge  of  the  needs 
and  requirements  of  the  city  and  are  entirely 
ignorant  of  the  city's  need  of  cooperation.  On 
the  farm,  each  family  acts  for  itself.  Initiative 
and  individuality  develop  on  the  farm,  but  not 
the  ability  to  cooperate.  As  a  result  of  the  com- 
bination of  these  various  elements,  the  American 
city  lacks  the  spirit  of  cooperation  for  the  pub- 
lic good  which  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  man- 
agement and  control  of  public  utilities.  As  the 
cities  become  older  and  develop  a  more  stable  and 
homogeneous  population,  the  idea  of  coopera- 
tion will  undoubtedly  take  firmer  hold  upon 

[248] 


PUBLIC   SERVICE  CORPORATIONS 

the  people,  and  we  may  confidently  expect  the 
American  city  of  the  future  to  succeed  in  the 
matter  of  municipal  ownership  as  well  as  its 
European  neighbors. 


[249] 


CHAPTER  XIII 

UKfJKLOFMEKTS    IX    EDUCATION 

EDTTCAHOX  is  becoming  primarily  the  func- 
tion of  the  city.  Elementary  schools,  and  some 
high  schools  and  small  colleges,  are  stfll  to  be 
found  in  rural  districts,  but  as  the  training  they 
offer  cannot  compete  with  that  giveu  in  a  first 
class  city,  they  are  gradually  losing  ground. 
Country  children  in  large  numbers  go  to  city 
schools,  while  practically  no  city  children  go 
to  rural  schools.  One  of  the  principal  causes 
of  the  depletion  of  the  rural  districts  and  of 
the  growth  of  cities  is  the  desire  on  the  part  of 
parents  bring  in  the  country  to  give  then*  chil- 
dren the  educational  advantages  to  be  had  only 
in  the  city. 

The  reasons  for  the  city's  supremacy  in  edu- 
cation are  two.  The  city  has  abundant  wealth, 
and  a  ««IB««Miii  number  of  people  to  "i*infaiti 
the  large  variety  of  instruction  necessary  in 
schools  at  the  present  time..  Modern  methods 
of  instruction  AfmmnA  illustrative  material, 
laboratory  equipment,  and  costly  reference  li- 
In  country  districts,  as  a  rule,  the 
1*50} 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

money  for  these  things  is  lacking  and  the  num- 
ber of  pupils  is  so  few  and  their  tastes  are  so 
simple  that  the  need  of  elaborate  equipment  is 
not  felt.  The  great  city,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
a  beehive  of  accumulated  wealth  and  learning, 
in  which  are  crowded  a  multitude  of  souls  of 
varied  tastes  and  needs. 

It  is  to  the  city,  therefore,  that  we  must  look 
for  education  that  shall  perfect  the  individual 
and  promote  the  civilization  of  our  age.  The 
country  will  continue  to  have  its  elementary 
ungraded  schools  and  agricultural  schools,  but 
nothing  more.  Education,  considered  in  its 
broadest  sense,  consequently  becomes  the  city's 
most  important  function. 

If  the  world  were  stationary,  and  knowledge 
a  fixed  quantity,  education  would  soon  become 
a  routine  matter  in  which  we  would  have  little 
concern,  but  we  live  in  the  rapidly  changing  age 
of  an  evolving  world.  Knowledge  is  becoming 
so  extensive  that  few  minds  can  conceive  its 
scope.  Social  and  political  relations  are  becom- 
ing more  complex  as  new  institutions  arise. 
Man's  power  over  nature,  and  his  ability  to  use 
nature's  energy  for  his  own  benefit,  are  develop- 
ing at  a  pace  undreamed  of  by  our  forefathers. 
The  secrets  of  life  and  death,  of  health  and  dis- 
ease, are  being  revealed,  with  the  happy  result 
that  health  and  long  life  bless  the  age.  The  chil- 
dren born  into  the  world  in  this  scientific  and 

[251] 


MODERN    CITIES 

mechanical  period  can  be  adjusted  to  their  en- 
vironment only  by  a  long  period  of  careful 
training.  So  much  effort  on  the  part  of  parent, 
child,  and  the  community  is  required,  that  in 
comparatively  few  instances  can  the  adjustment 
or  education  be  said  to  be  complete. 

In  no  civilized  country,  at  the  present  time, 
is  there  a  close  approach  to  universal  education. 
In  many  countries  there  is  still  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  people  who  can  scarcely  read  and 
write.  In  spite  of  accumulated  wisdom,  in  spite 
of  splendid  opportunities  afforded  by  modern 
institutions  of  learning,  in  spite  of  the  recog- 
nized advantages  of  education  to  the  individual 
and  to  society,  the  majority  of  mankind  still 
remains  ignorant.  The  average  man  knows 
little  of  the  past  experience  of  the  race  and  has 
only  a  superficial  knowledge  of  the  present-day 
world.  The  social  effects  of  this  lack  of  knowl- 
edge are  everywhere  apparent.  The  ignorant 
man,  like  the  passenger  on  an  ocean-liner,  is 
carried  along,  not  knowing  whether  he  is  making 
progress  in  the  right  direction  or  not.  He  trusts 
others  to  guide  him  aright,  and  not  seldom  be- 
comes the  victim  of  misplaced  confidence.  Too 
often  his  captain  is  a  pirate.  The  ignorant  man 
is  not  only  helpless  himself,  but  almost  useless 
as  a  member  of  society.  He  may  be  willing  to 
cooperate  with  others,  but  not  being  able  to 
understand  the  results  of  his  conduct,  he  is  as 

[252] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

likely  to  cooperate  with  those  who  retard  the 
progress  of  society,  as  with  those  who  pro- 
mote it. 

In  a  modern  city,  every  normal  boy  and  girl 
should  be  well  educated.  The  means  are  at 
hand.  The  need  is  no  longer  questioned.  The 
gains  realized  by  society  would  be  incalculable. 
Such  education  does  not  necessarily  mean  grad- 
uation from  a  modern  college,  although  that 
standard  is  none  too  high,  but  intellectually  it 
would  include  certain  essentials ;  viz.,  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  development  of  the  physical 
universe,  including  the  laws  of  energy,  matter 
and  life  in  all  their  varied  forms;  a  complete 
survey  of  the  history  and  progress  of  society, 
including  economics,  commerce,  government, 
and  international  relations;  a  comprehensive 
study  of  the  constitution  of  a  human  being  in 
all  its  biological  and  psychological  aspects,  and 
a  professional  training  which  will  enable  the 
individual  to  render  expert  services  to  society, 
and  maintain  himself  and  family  in  an  independ- 
ent position. 

Professor  Lester  Ward,  in  his  "Applied  Soci- 
ology," advances  the  idea  that  every  individual 
should  become  familiar  with  the  general  prin- 
ciples in  every  realm  of  knowledge.  While  such 
a  degree  of  education  could  scarcely  be  realized 
at  the  present  time,  its  desirability  cannot  be 
questioned.  Professor  Ward,  in  discussing  the  re- 

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MODERN    CITIES 

suits  of  such  broad,  general  education,  develops 
the  great  truth  that  most  of  the  perplexing 
social  problems  of  the  present  day  are  due  to 
man's  ignorance,  and  would  naturally  disappear 
under  the  light  of  a  trained  intelligence  in  the 
whole  body  of  citizens. 

While  few  advanced  thinkers  would  deny  the 
desirability  of  thorough  education  for  all,  the 
difficulties  to  be  met  in  working  out  a  system 
that  will  produce  such  happy  results  are  almost 
insurmountable.  It  is  encouraging  to  note  that, 
although  the  ideal  is  in  the  far  distance,  great 
progress  toward  universal  education  is  being 
made.  Practically  all  civilized  countries  at  the 
present  time  have  an  organized  system  of  pub- 
lic education,  and  in  the  more  progressive  coun- 
tries a  child  may  obtain  a  high  school,  and  even 
a  college  education,  without  payment  of  ex- 
cessive fees.  Most  states  no  longer  stop  with 
giving  an  opportunity  for  education.  They  re- 
quire all  children  of  certain  ages  to  receive  in- 
struction, and  provide  truant  schools  and  reform 
schools  for  those  who  refuse  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  advantages  offered  in  regular  schools. 

While  compulsory  education  is,  and  no  doubt 
will  continue  to  be  necessary  in  some  cases,  a 
new  and  better  way  of  dealing  with  the  prob- 
lem of  securing  school  attendance  is  found  in 
shaping  the  work  of  the  schools  to  meet  the  de- 
mands of  all  classes.  In  the  ordinary  public 

[254] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

schools  of  the  cities,  there  is  little  to  attract  and 
hold  a  child  who  has  reached  the  productive  age. 
Either  parents  or  the  state  must  exert  a  strong 
influence  to  keep  the  child  in  school.  When  the 
school  is  so  organized  that  a  boy  or  girl  can 
recognize  its  advantages,  and  parents  can  feel 
that  their  children  are  profiting  by  attendance, 
compulsion  on  the  part  of  the  state  will  be  no 
longer  necessary.  This  happy  result  is  being 
attained  in  many  localities. 

The  most  effective  means  of  relating  the 
school  to  home  life  and  the  aspirations  of  chil- 
dren in  various  conditions,  is  the  continuation  or 
vocational  school,  which  takes  the  child  at  eleven 
or  twelve  years  of  age  and  gives  him  training 
in  any  one  of  a  large  number  of  useful  occupa- 
tions. In  the  better  grade  of  these  schools,  the 
general  education  of  the  child  is  continued  while 
proficiency  in  the  trades  is  being  attained.  Like 
many  of  our  best  educational  institutions,  the 
continuation  school  is  the  product  of  German 
thought,  and  has  reached  its  highest  develop- 
ment in  Munich.  In  our  later  discussion  of 
recent  improvements  in  educational  systems  will 
be  found  a  more  extended  reference  to  these  ex- 
cellent schools  in  the  Bavarian  capital. 

Another  great  aid  to  universal  education  is 
the  evening  school,  which  when  fully  equipped, 
offers  instruction  in  a  large  variety  of  subjects 
to  any  one  not  able  to  attend  a  day-school, 

[255] 


MODERN    CITIES 

Although  courses  in  vocational  instruction  in 
evening  schools  are  most  popular,  not  a  few 
students  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity 
afforded  to  pursue  cultural  studies. 

The  free  libraries  found  in  every  modern  city, 
extend  an  invitation  to  all  to  explore  the  wealth 
of  knowledge  they  contain.  General  culture  is 
greatly  augmented  by  lecture  courses  held  by 
scientific,  historical,  semi-social,  and  religious 
organizations.  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations, Catholic  clubs,  and  societies  in  almost 
every  church  arrange  lectures  to  promote  inter- 
est in  art,  literature  and  movements  for  social 
betterment. 

Recent  years  have  witnessed  the  development 
of  the  correspondence  school,  an  institution 
which  aims  to  supplement  the  meager  education 
its  students  obtained  elsewhere  and  to  increase 
their  earning  capacity.  While  the  courses  of- 
fered by  these  schools  are  all  along  practical 
lines  and  deal  largely  with  technical  subjects, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  they  are  an  important 
factor  in  promoting  general  education. 

In  the  presence  of  all  these  opportunities,  it 
is  hard  to  comprehend  the  reason  for  the  igno- 
rance that  still  prevails.  Perhaps  the  matter  is 
partly  explained  by  the  slowness  of  change  in 
the  customs  and  habits  of  the  people  in  general, 
partly  by  inherited  lack  of  interest  and  capacity 
of  a  portion  of  the  population,  and  partly  by 

[256] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

the  economic  stress  to  which  the  poorer  classes 
are  subjected.  Whatever  be  the  cause,  all 
students  of  society  are  agreed  that  it  stands  as 
the  principal  bar  to  greater  progress  of  the 
race. 

The  outlook  for  the  future  in  education  was 
never  brighter.  More  thought  and  study  are 
being  devoted  to  the  subject  than  ever  before. 
A  gain  in  method  or  theory  in  one  city  is  widely 
heralded,  so  that,  in  a  comparatively  short  time, 
the  whole  world  profits  by  the  discoveries  of 
successful  educators.  Education  is  no  longer 
national  in  outlook  and  aim,  but  like  music, 
science  and  medicine,  is  international.  Educa- 
tors know  no  national  boundaries  in  their  ex- 
change of  ideas  and  methods.  The  aim  of  the 
up-to-date  school  is  to  use  the  best  methods  re- 
gardless of  their  origin,  and  to  train  young  men 
and  women  for  world  citizenship.  Unfortu- 
nately the  schools  of  this  type  are  not  yet  nu- 
merous, but  they  are  increasing. 

Another  hopeful  trend  in  modern  education 
is  the  emphasis  placed  on  present-day  life.  The 
time-honored  classics,  to  the  regret  of  many,  are 
fast  disappearing  from  schools  and  colleges  in 
every  land,  as  out  of  joint  with  the  age.  When 
education  was  confined  to  the  monastery,  Latin 
and  Greek  were  found  useful  for  mental  ex- 
ercise, but  to-day  we  have  so  many  things  to 
think  about  and  we  live  so  strenuous  a  life,  that 

[257] 


MODERN    CITIES 

we  find  a  necessity  for  casting  overboard  non- 
essentials.  The  old  speculative  theology,  with 
gloomy  discussions  of  medieval  ideas,  is  also 
being  relegated  to  the  shelf.  A  scientific  and 
practical  age  has  no  use  for  it.  People  are 
thinking  more  about  "getting  on,"  than  about 
their  origin  or  destiny.  Modern  religious 
teachers  are  using  their  energy  in  behalf  of  a 
city  of  God  made  by  men  and  women  here  on 
earth.  Instead  of  revivals  churches  are  support- 
ing vacation  schools,  playgrounds,  and  young 
people's  clubs.  The  modern  sermon  deals  with 
the  application  of  ideals  of  good- will,  justice, 
beauty  and  service  to  every-day  life.  The  sig- 
nificance of  the  change  is  far-reaching. 

In  the  domain  of  schools  there  is  continual 
change.  No  one  but  the  specialist  can  ade- 
quately note  the  progress.  There  are,  how- 
ever, some  recent  developments  that  are  work- 
ing more  or  less  of  a  revolution  in  educational 
methods  in  our  cities.  Four  of  these  newer 
phases  of  education,  on  account  of  their  great 
significance  in  the  general  movement  for  social 
betterment,  are  discussed  at  some  length  in  the 
following  pages. 

The  Montessori  Schools 

When  Froebel  and  his  disciples,  in  perfecting 
the  kindergarten,  succeeded  in  making  the  edu- 
cation of  young  children  a  matter  of  delight  to 

[258] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

both  pupil  and  teacher,  it  seemed  to  many  edu- 
cators that  the  last  word  had  been  said  on  the 
subject  of  primary  education.  That  such  an 
opinion  was  not  without  reason,  is  evidenced  by 
the  fact  that  for  seventy  years  the  kindergarten 
maintained  the  field  without  an  important  rival. 
Meanwhile  it  had  spread  from  Germany  to 
every  civilized  land.  Like  many  other  systems 
that  have  well  served  their  age,  only  in  time 
to  be  displaced,  the  kindergarten  is  now  likely 
to  be  greatly  modified,  or  perhaps  entirely  su- 
perseded, by  a  new  system  of  primary  education 
which  had  its  beginning  in  Rome,  in  1907. 

This  innovation  is  mainly  the  work  of  Dr. 
Maria  Montessori,  a  physician,  psychologist  and 
educator  of  Rome.  Her  theories  and  methods 
are  fully  set  forth  in  her  new  book,  "II  Methodo 
della  Pedagogia  Scientifica."  (The  Method  of 
Scientific  Pedagogy.)  Dr.  Montessori  is  a  bril- 
liant woman  of  middle  age,  whose  life  thus  far 
has  been  devoted  to  study  of  the  human  body 
and  mind,  and  the  development  of  her  peda- 
gogical ideas.  After  graduating  from  the  school 
of  medicine  of  the  University  of  Rome  she  be- 
came assistant  physician  in  the  clinic  of  psy- 
chiatry in  Rome.  Later  she  was  placed  in 
charge  of  a  school  for  feeble-minded  and  de- 
fective children.  In  this  school  children  were 
instructed  according  to  the  methods  of  indi- 
vidual tutelage  developed  by  Itard  and  Seguin. 

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The  remarkable  progress  made,  led  Dr.  Montes- 
sori  to  the  conclusion  that  similar  methods 
might  be  used  to  good  advantage  in  schools  for 
normal  children.  Accordingly,  she  set  herself 
to  work  and  her  "Method  of  Scientific  Peda- 
gogy" is  the  result. 

While  serving  on  the  board  of  judges  of  the 
Department  of  Education,  in  the  International 
Exposition  at  Milan  in  1906,  Dr.  Montessori 
was  invited  by  Edward  Talamo,  Director  of 
the  Institute  Romano  di  Beni  Stabili  (The 
Good  Homes  Company  of  Rome),  to  take 
charge  of  schools  which  were  being  established  in 
the  groups  of  tenements  built  by  his  company. 
Talamo's  purpose  was  to  bring  together,  in  an 
attractive  room  and  yard,  children  from  three 
to  seven  years  of  age  of  tenants  forming  the 
group,  and  place  them  in  charge  of  a  competent 
instructor  who  would  also  live  in  the  establish- 
ment. As  the  company  owned  over  four  hun- 
dred tenements,  and  as  full  opportunity  for  a 
trial  of  the  method  would  be  allowed,  Dr.  Mon- 
tessori gladly  accepted  Talamo's  offer.  In 
January,  1907,  the  first  school  was  opened  in 
a  tenement  group  containing  about  one  thou- 
sand persons,  and  located  in  the  San  Lorenzo 
quarter  of  Rome.  This  school  was  christened  the 
"Children's  House,"  or  in  Italian  "La  Casa  dei 
Bambini."  The  expense  of  building  and  main- 

[260] 


MADAMK   MOXTESSORI 
Originator  of  the  Montessori  System 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

taining  the  school  was  paid  by  the  company. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  rents  were  not 
raised  when  the  school  was  established. 

On  our  recent  trip  in  Italy,  we  visited  several 
of  these  "Children's  Houses"  in  different  quar- 
ters of  Rome,  and  were  greatly  impressed  by 
the  things  we  saw  and  heard.  In  the  group 
tenements  and  the  "Children's  Houses"  we 
found  combined  the  work  of  two  great  geniuses, 
Edward  Talamo,  the  home  builder  of  Rome, 
who  is  transforming  vile  rookeries  into  abodes 
of  comfort  and  health,  and  Maria  Montessori, 
whose  schools  are  transforming  the  children  of 
tenements  from  street  Arabs  into  little  men  and 
women.  Through  neighborhood  cooperation, 
working  in  harmony  with  a  guiding  spirit,  the 
blessings  of  wealth  are  here  being  enjoyed  by 
the  poor.  There  is  no  charity  in  the  enterprise, 
as  the  tenants  pay  in  the  rental  of  their  homes 
for  the  advantages  they  and  their  children  re- 
ceive, but  here  are  found  many  things  not  usu- 
ally enjoyed  by  tenants.  Here  are  cleanliness, 
sunlight,  fresh  air  and  abounding  health;  here 
are  free  medical  service,  and  free  club  rooms,  in 
addition  to  new  primary  schools. 

The  "Children's  House"  is  a  separate  build- 
ing in  the  spacious  yard  adjoining  the  tene- 
ments, or  in  a  pleasant  room  on  the  ground  floor 
of  one  of  the  buildings.  So  far  as  room  and 

[261] 


MODERN    CITIES 

children  are  concerned,  the  school  is  not  unlike 
the  kindergarten.  In  the  scheme  of  instruc- 
tion, however,  there  is  a  wide  divergence. 

The  fundamental  aims  of  the  "Children's 
House"  are  to  insure  the  physical  perfection 
of  the  child,  to  develop  initiative,  to  train  sys- 
tematically the  senses,  and  to  develop  and 
strengthen  the  child's  personality.  The  emphasis 
is  on  the  individual  instead  of  on  the  class,  and 
on  the  child  instead  of  on  the  subject  matter. 
Direct  personal  instruction  and  development  of 
special  senses  which  were  the  secrets  of  Seguin's 
success,  are  here  continued  and  modified  so  as 
to  apply  to  normal  children.  The  results  dem- 
onstrate the  soundness  of  Dr.  Montessori's  con- 
clusion, reached  while  a  teacher  in  the  school 
for  defectives,  that  methods  applied  to  defective 
children  might  be  advantageously  used  in  all 
primary  classes. 

At  the  opening  of  the  "Children's  House"  in 
the  morning,  every  child  goes  to  the  teacher  for 
inspection.  The  little  one  holds  up  its  freshly 
washed  hands,  shows  its  brushed  teeth  and 
neatly  combed  hair,  with  a  feeling  of  genuine 
pride.  The  teacher  smiles  her  approval.  Before 
beginning  school  work  the  child  dons  a  long 
apron,  which  serves  as  a  protection  to  the  dress, 
and  as  a  safeguard  against  the  dissemination  of 
germs.  The  highest  standard  of  personal  clean- 
liness is  maintained  and  great  care  is  taken  to 

[262] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

promote  health.  The  teacher  is  continually  on 
the  watch  for  any  signs  of  disease  or  physical 
defects.  If  the  child  shows  the  least  sign  of 
illness,  or  seems  to  have  some  physical  imper- 
fection, the  matter  is  referred  to  the  parents  and 
to  the  house  physician,  who  takes  the  action 
necessary  under  the  circumstances.  Teacher 
and  physician  are  a  part  of  the  large  family 
group,  and  freely  consult  with  the  parents  re- 
specting the  welfare  of  the  children.  The  health 
of  the  children  is  also  promoted  by  breathing 
and  calisthenic  exercises,  by  play  in  the  open 
air,  and  by  working  in  gardens  connected  with 
the  school.  The  teacher  aims  to  build  up  the 
physique  of  each  child  and,  therefore,  plans  ex- 
ercises in  each  case  to  meet  the  child's  needs. 
Initiative  is  developed  by  freedom  from  re- 
straint, and  by  giving  full  opportunity  for 
choice  and  decision.  Dr.  Montessori  recognizes 
that,  while  children  are  naturally  active,  activity 
of  itself  does  not  develop  initiative.  A  choice  of 
activities  must  be  possible,  and  the  child  must 
have  full  liberty  to  choose  without  fear  of  re- 
proach or  criticism.  The  only  restriction  to 
liberty  in  the  "Children's  House"  is  that  caused 
by  the  presence  of  other  children.  The  children 
quickly  grasp  the  idea  that  the  spirit  of  free- 
dom abounds,  but  such  freedom  cannot  go  to  the 
extent  of  permitting  one  child  to  infringe  upon 
the  liberty  or  freedom  of  another.  Discipline  is 

[263] 


MODERN   CITIES 

secured  by  the  natural  interest  of  children  in 
the  exercises  given  them,  and  by  their  love  of 
teacher  and  school  which  prompts  them  to  do 
the  thing  suggested.  In  many  kindergartens 
and  primary  classes,  initiative  is  stifled  by  the 
overactivity  of  the  teacher  in  directing  the  work 
of  children.  In  such  schools,  exercises  are  per- 
formed in  unison,  and  children,  instead  of  each 
acting  for  himself,  blindly  follow  the  teacher  or 
leader.  In  the  Montessori  schools,  exercises  are 
mainly  individual.  The  pupil  takes  up  ap- 
paratus that  is  free  and  works  with  it.  The 
teacher  assists  but  does  not  control  the  activity 
of  the  child.  Control  is  with  the  child  itself. 

We  walked  into  the  open  door  of  a  "Chil- 
dren's House"  filled  with  busy  pupils.  Some 
of  the  little  ones  paid  no  attention  to  us.  Others 
looked  up  and  smiled,  and  three  or  four  bright 
ones,  with  no  sign  to  or  from  the  teacher,  came 
to  us  with  hands  outstretched  and  said  "Bon 
giorno,  Signori,"  and  when  we  left,  others  came 
to  bid  us  good-by  and  to  ask  us  to  come  again. 
At  another  "Children's  House"  we  were  present 
at  the  opening  exercises.  A  little  prayer  song 
was  sung,  and  then  each  child  got  out  the  ap- 
paratus he  wanted  to  use.  There  was  no  strife, 
as  there  was  plenty  of  apparatus,  but  there  was 
genuine,  immediate  interest  and  a  display  of 
self-directed  activity  such  as  we  had  never  be- 
fore witnessed  in  children  of  that  age. 

[264] 


C    -E 

-        7 

X     ^ 


7-     7 
X     r 


^;      - 

X      =' 


X    ^ 

.1 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

The  school  works  according  to  a  general 
program,  but  there  is  no  compulsion  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher.  If  a  child  tires  of  one  piece 
of  apparatus,  he  takes  another,  or  if  he  feels 
like  leaving  the  school-room,  he  is  permitted  to 
go  into  the  garden  or  yard  at  any  time. 

A  special  departure  from  the  ordinary  kinder- 
garten and  primary  school,  is  training  of  the 
senses.  As  sight  and  hearing  are  the  means 
through  which  a  child  acquires  most  of  its 
knowledge  of  the  external  world,  all  systems  of 
education  recognize  the  need  of  good  eyes  and 
good  ears.  The  common  experience  of  teachers, 
however,  bears  witness  to  the  fact  that  many  a 
child  with  good  eyes  sees  little  and  often  sees 
that  little  wrong,  and  that  many  a  child  with 
good  ears  is  deaf  to  the  thing  that  is  being 
taught.  The  eyes  and  ears  of  such  children  may 
be  likened  to  valuable  musical  instruments  that 
become  worthless  in  the  absence  of  a  skilled 
musician. 

In  the  training  of  defective  children,  as  in 
the  cases  of  Helen  Keller  and  Laura  Bridgman, 
the  development  of  one  sense  has  proceeded  so 
far  that  it  has  been  able  to  take  the  place  of 
others;  few  teachers,  however,  have  deemed  it 
worth  while  or  necessary  to  develop  systemat- 
ically the  sense  organs  in  normal  children.  In 
the  "Children's  House"  a  progressive  series  of 
exercises  is  given  to  train  the  sense  of  touch, 

[265] 


MODERN    CITIES 

sight  and  hearing.  In  the  main,  these  exer- 
cises are  performed  independently  by  each  pupil, 
and  care  is  taken  to  detect  and  remedy  if  pos- 
sible any  defect  of  touch,  hearing  or  vision  that 
may  be  discovered. 

Dr.  Montessori,  in  taking  up  the  sense  train- 
ing, begins  with  the  sense  of  touch.  The  first 
exercise  is  one  to  distinguish  a  rough  surface 
from  a  smooth  one  by  rubbing  the  fingers  over 
pieces  of  wood  specially  prepared  for  this  pur- 
pose. A  very  smooth  piece  and  a  very  rough 
one  are  first  taken.  The  teacher  passes  the 
finger-tips  of  the  child  over  the  smooth  one,  and 
says  "smooth,"  and  then  over  the  rough  one  and 
says  "rough."  Then  the  child  is  left  to  examine 
the  pieces  at  leisure.  Gradually,  other  pieces 
of  varying  degrees  of  smoothness  are  added  and 
the  child  learns  to  arrange  them  in  the  order 
of  their  smoothness.  Blocks  of  various  geo- 
metrical figures  are  given  to  the  child  to  handle 
and  fit  into  matrices  of  like  form.  The  names 
of  the  forms  are  taught  as  the  child  learns  to 
distinguish  them.  At  first,  the  senses  of  sight 
and  touch  are  both  used  in  recognizing  forms. 
Later,  the  child  recognizes  by  touch  alone  or  by 
sight  alone.  To  test  the  sense  of  touch  alone 
the  child  is  blindfolded.  In  training  the  sense 
of  sight,  the  child  is  first  shown  a  number  of 
sticks  having  the  same  width  but  varying  in 
length,  and  is  asked  to  pick  out  the  longest 

[266] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

and  the  shortest.  The  sticks  picked  out  are  laid 
aside  and  the  process  repeated  until  all  the 
sticks  have  been  taken  from  the  pile.  The 
last  sticks  are  very  nearly  equal  in  length,  and 
to  decide  between  them  requires  close  observa- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  child.  A  similar  series 
of  squares  and  cubes  is  given  the  pupil  to  ar- 
range according  to  size. 

Another  series  of  exercises  is  designed  to 
train  the  eye  to  distinguish  colors.  A  large 
number  of  spools  or  cards  on  which  different 
colored  yarns  are  wound,  are  used.  At  first,  the 
more  striking  colors  are  taught.  Later,  many 
shades  of  the  same  color  are  used  and  the  child 
arranges  the  spools  in  accordance  with  the  in- 
tensity of  the  color.  Sometimes  the  spools  are 
mixed  up  in  a  pile  and  the  child  takes  them  from 
the  pile  and  arranges  them  systematically  on 
the  table.  As  eight  principal  colors  are  used 
and  eight  shades  of  each,  it  is  readily  seen  that 
careful  discrimination  must  be  made  by  the 
child. 

In  order  to  avoid  monotony  in  the  school,  a 
large  variety  of  apparatus  is  provided  for  dif- 
ferent exercises.  There  is  a  series  of  weights  for 
training  the  muscular  sense,  blocks  of  the  same 
size,  but  of  different  weights  to  be  assorted, 
fabrics  of  many  kinds  to  be  distinguished  by 
sight  and  touch,  sounding  boxes  to  be  graded 
according  to  intensity  of  sound,  waists  or  jackets 

[267] 


MODERN    CITIES 

stretched  on  frames  to  be  buttoned  and  laced 
in  imitation  of  dresses,  and  many  other  interest- 
ing devices. 

While  the  sense  training  is  mainly  individual, 
it  is  occasionally  conducted  as  a  game.  Cards 
containing  the  colored  yarns,  for  example,  re- 
gardless of  order  or  color,  are  distributed  to  sev- 
eral pupils.  One  pupil  will  then  undertake  to 
arrange  the  colors  in  order,  according  to  shades, 
by  calling  for  the  color  needed.  The  child  hav- 
ing the  color  called  for,  produces  it  and  then 
another  is  called  for.  All  of  the  children  taking 
part,  keenly  watch  the  arrangement  of  colors  so 
that  no  mistake  is  made. 

The  instruction  is  fitted  to  the  needs  of  each 
individual  child,  and  the  development  of  each 
child  is  carefully  watched.  So  far  as  possible, 
each  child  is  permitted  to  do  the  thing  he  wants 
to  do. 

At  the  age  of  four,  the  children  are  taught 
to  read  and  write.  Dr.  Montessori  has 
worked  out  a  new  method  for  teaching  wri- 
ting which  fits  in  perfectly  with  her  system  of 
sense  instruction.  As  preparatory  steps,  the 
child  marks  out  the  exterior  of  geometrical 
forms  with  a  crayon,  and  the  interior  of  forms 
cut  into  a  card  or  piece  of  wood  as  a  stencil. 
By  using  colored  crayons  and  bringing  the  va- 
rious forms  together,  the  child  becomes  greatly 
interested  in  the  designs  he  is  able  to  produce. 

[268] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

The  next  step  is  to  give  him  letters  that  have 
been  cut  out.  The  sounds  of  these  letters  are 
associated  with  their  forms.  After  the  child 
can  recognize  the  letters,  a  large  number  are 
given  him  to  pick  out  and  form  into  words. 
Cards  with  raised  script  letters  are  then  given 
him  to  trace.  After  a  little  practise  in  these 
exercises,  the  child  is  ready  to  write  by  himself 
and  will  often  actually  begin  writing  words 
independently  and  without  suggestion  from  the 
teacher.  Little  tots  of  five  in  these  schools  write 
in  a  clear,  round  hand  such  as  is  not  usually 
acquired  in  school  before  the  age  of  ten.  Read- 
ing comes  along  with,  and  almost  as  easily  as, 
writing.  The  results  are  truly  marvelous. 

Although  only  five  years  have  elapsed  since 
the  first  "Children's  House"  was  opened,  it  is 
evident  that  the  new  system  of  primary  educa- 
tion has  come  to  stay.  Dr.  Montessori's  meth- 
ods are  being  introduced  in  several  places  in 
Italy  and  in  schools  in  France  and  Germany. 
Several  American  students  have  taken  special 
courses  under  Dr.  Montessori,  and  returning  to 
America,  filled  with  enthusiasm,  are  active  in 
establishing  schools  and  teaching  the  new  meth- 
ods in  this  country.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  in 
establishing  these  schools  and  in  presenting  her 
methods  to  the  world,  Dr.  Montessori  has  made 
the  most  valuable  contribution  of  the  past  half 
century  to  the  cause  of  primary  education. 

[269] 


MODERN    CITIES 

The  Continuation  Schools  of  Munich 

The  industrial  and  trade  schools  of  Germany 
far  excel  those  of  any  other  nation,  although 
France,  England  and  America  are  now  making 
strenuous  efforts  to  build  up  schools  that  will 
accomplish  for  the  citizens  of  these  countries 
what  the  German  schools  have  been  doing  for 
workmen  for  many  years.  The  recent  material 
progress  of  Germany  is,  no  doubt,  closely  re- 
lated to  the  thorough  and  practical  education  it 
has  been  giving  its  young  people  for  the  past 
two  decades. 

While  several  German  cities  have  excellent 
systems  of  continuation  or  trade  schools,  it  is 
generally  conceded  that  Munich  outranks  the 
others.  It  is  probable  that  this  city  has  the  best 
public  system  of  industrial  education  to  be 
found  anywhere  in  the  world.  Here  in  the 
public  schools  is  realized  that  great  ideal  of 
a  city  school  system  which  offers  instruction  to 
any  one  in  any  subject.  Regular  courses  are 
offered  in  more  than  forty  trades,  and  most  of 
these  courses  are  open  to  school  children  who 
pursue  their  studies  during  week-days,  and  to 
others  who  are  employed  during  the  day  and 
can  attend  school  evenings  or  Sundays  only. 
Appropriate  courses  are  also  offered  for  those 
who  desire  to  enter  business  as  clerks,  stenog- 
raphers, salesmen  or  proprietors. 

[270] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

Although  Munich  is  a  city  of  about  six  hun- 
dred thousand  inhabitants,  it  maintains  an  inti- 
mate  relation   with   its    rural   environment   by 
providing  instruction  for  the  sons  of  farmers 
and  gardeners  living  in  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, who  wish  to  follow  their  fathers'  vocations. 
Excellent  courses  in  agriculture  and  gardening 
are  given  and  are  well  patronized.     The  needs 
of  the  girls  and  young  women  of  the  city  and 
surrounding  country  are  also  not  overlooked. 
For  these,  schools  of  dress-making,  millinery, 
embroidery,    cooking,    stenography    and    book- 
keeping are  provided.     Students  who  wish  to 
enter  the   learned  professions   go  to   the  uni- 
versity, and  those  who  wish  to  pursue  engineer- 
ing,   architecture,    mining,    or    forestry,    take 
courses  in  the  higher  technical  schools.     Train- 
ing in  all  these  lines  of  instruction  is  given  in 
public  institutions  within  the  city.    The  system 
of  schools  provided  by  the  city  in  cooperation 
with  the  Kingdom  of  Bavaria,  comprises  ele- 
mentary schools  with  the  kindergarten  classes, 
the  Real  Schulen,  the  Classical  Gymnasia,  the 
elementary    industrial    school    or    continuation 
school,  the  higher  technical  school  and  the  Uni- 
versity of  Munich.    A  child  may  enter  the  sys- 
tem of  schools  in  the  kindergarten  and  pass  up- 
ward through  various  grades,  and  may  receive 
training  in  any  of  the  learned  professions,  or  in 

[271] 


MODERN    CITIES 

any  one  of  forty  different  skilled  occupations 
without  going  outside  the  city. 

The  opportunities  thus  afforded  are  eagerly 
seized.  In  the  year  1908-09  in  Munich,  the 
trade  and  industrial  schools  for  boys  and  young 
men  were  attended  by  8,921  students,  and  the 
trade  and  domestic  science  schools  for  girls,  by 
3,685.  Altogether  12,606  young  people  were 
being  trained  for  life  work  in  these  industrial 
schools.  The  total  number  of  pupils  in  the 
ordinary  day-schools  at  the  same  time  was  65,- 
933.  The  number  of  pupils  in  the  trade-schools 
was,  therefore,  about  one-fifth  as  large  as  the 
number  in  the  day-schools.  Probably  no  other 
German  city  could  make  an  equally  good  show- 
ing, and  it  is  certain  that  no  American  city  has 
relatively  so  large  a  number  of  children  in  in- 
dustrial or  trade  schools. 

Fortunately,  the  continuation  schools  are  not 
designed  to  make  mere  artizans  of  boys  and 
girls.  On  the  contrary,  the  schools  offer  instruc- 
tion in  science,  literature,  civics,  and  history  in 
connection  with  trade  instruction.  Physical  cul- 
ture forms  an  essential  part  of  the  course.  The 
aim  is  to  produce  not  merely  workers,  but  effi- 
cient men  and  women.  The  serious  character  of 
the  work  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  courses 
are  from  three  to  four  years  in  length,  and  are 
compulsory  for  apprentices. 

As  an  illustration  of  a  typical  German  trade- 
[272] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

school,  we  may  take  the  Central  Continuation 
School,  on  Pranckh  Strasse,  Munich.  This 
building  was  erected  in  1905-06,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $125,000,  and  equipped  at  a  cost  of 
about  $45,000.  It  is  attended  by  about  1,550 
students,  divided  into  61  classes.  Besides  shops, 
the  building  contains  thirteen  recitation  halls, 
a  large  lecture-hall  and  lecture-room,  a  labora- 
tory for  physics,  a  laboratory  for  technical  chem- 
istry, a  large  room  for  free-hand  drawing,  a 
conference-room,  a  library  for  teachers  and  one 
for  pupils,  and  two  storerooms.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  rooms  is  as  follows : 

Basement — workshops  for  locksmiths,  foundrymen  and 
machinists. 

1st  story — workshops  for  joiners,  stuccoworkers,  sculp- 
tors, and  a  physical  laboratory  and  lecture-room. 

2d  story — the  directors'  room,  assembly  hall  and  libra- 
ries, storerooms  and  four  recitation-rooms. 

3d  story — the  commercial  laboratory  and  preparation- 
room,  the  room  for  the  technical  collection  of  metals,  and 
five  recitation-rooms. 

4th  story — workrooms  for  lithographers,  tin  workers  and 
braziers,  a  large  hall  for  free-hand  drawing,  and  four  reci- 
tation-halls. 

5th  story — workshops  for  printers  and  photographers, 
with  necessary  appliances,  and  a  terrace  for  outdoor  ex- 
posures. 

Each  story  is  supplied  with  hot  and  cold 
water. 

Similar  buildings  located  in  different  parts  of 
the  city  provide  instruction  in  other  trades.  It 

[273] 


MODERN    CITIES 

is  not  found  practicable  to  make  a  single  build- 
ing large  enough  to  contain  proper  workshops 
for  all  the  various  courses  of  instruction.  An 
effort  is  made,  however,  to  bring  related  trades 
together.  The  shops  in  the  schools  are  all  fully 
equipped  workshops,  and  the  work  is  made  as 
practical  as  possible.  Care  is  taken  to  make  the 
students  efficient  workmen,  and  to  inculcate  in 
them  pride  in  their  chosen  occupation. 

When  Munich  started  its  first  trade- school, 
about  thirty-five  years  ago,  the  success  of  the 
venture  seemed  doubtful,  but  the  first  school  was 
found  to  fulfil  a  real  demand,  and  as  the  value 
of  the  trade  instruction  became  known,  new 
schools  had  to  be  built  to  make  room  for  the  many 
children  who  wished  to  enter  them.  Now, 
after  thirty-five  years  of  experience,  there  is 
no  thought  of  taking  a  backward  step.  The 
one  aim  of  those  in  authority  in  the  school  sys- 
tem in  Munich,  is  further  to  develop  a  system 
that  has  proved  of  such  great  value.  The  super- 
intendent of  schools  of  that  city,  Dr.  Georg 
Kerschensteiner,  is  recognized  throughout  the 
world  as  the  leading  exponent  of  industrial  edu- 
cation. In  his  recent  book  on  "Education  for 
Citizenship"  (pp.  24-26),  Dr.  Kerschensteiner 
discusses  the  value  of  industrial  training  in  fit- 
ting the  student  for  the  performance  of  his 
duty  as  a  citizen  as  follows: 

[274] 


"As  a  means  of  insuring  personal  efficiency,  and  so  of 
enabling  a  pupil  to  take  that  part  in  society  which  his 
capacity  warrants,  the  first  place  must  be  assigned  to  a 
training  in  trade  efficiency.  This  is  the  conditio  sine  qua 
non  of  all  civic  education.  But  in  the  prosecution  of  this 
object,  in  the  training  which  inspires  love  of  work  and  re- 
sults in  effectiveness  of  effort,  precisely  those  civic  virtues 
are  developed  which  must  be  regarded  as  the  foundation  of 
all  higher  moral  training — conscientiousness,  diligence,  per- 
severance, self-restraint,  and  devotion  to  a  strenuous  life. 
From  a  consideration  of  the  interdependence  of  individual 
interests  it  may  be  possible  to  develop  the  highest  of  civic 
virtues — self-control,  justice  and  devotion  to  the  interests 
of  the  community.  How  far  education  will  be  helpful  here 
depends  upon  the  extent  to  which  our  educational  arrange- 
ments make  it  possible  for  the  pupil  to  be  actively  related 
to  his  environment  and  to  apply  the  sympathetic  interests 
we  have  aroused  in  him.  For  action  is  the  only  foundation 
of  virtue.  This  much  Aristotle  has  taught  us  already.  This 
is  also  true  of  the  second  object  which  education  toward 
personal  efficiency  puts  before  us :  the  training  in  a  sensible, 
hygienic  mode  of  life,  which  eventually  makes  the  pupil 
a  fit  subject  for  military  service.  Here  we  shall  have  to 
provide  not  only  for  the  discernment  necessary,  but  also 
for  the  possibility  of  exercising  it. 

"To  sum  up,  the  first  aim  of  education  for  those  leaving 
the  primary  school  is  the  development  of  trade  efficiency 
and  love  of  work,  and  with  this  the  development  of  those 
elementary  virtues  which  effectiveness  of  effort  and  love  of 
work  immediately  call  forth — conscientiousness,  diligence, 
perseverance,  responsibility,  self-restraint,  and  dedication 
to  a  strenuous  life. 

"In  close  connection  with  this  the  second  aim  must  be 
pursued:  to  gain  an  insight  into  the  relations  of  individ- 
uals to  one  another  and  to  the  State,  to  understand  the 
laws  of  health,  and  to  employ  the  knowledge  acquired  in 
the  exercise  of  self-control,  justice,  and  devotion  to  duty, 

[275] 


MODERN    CITIES 

and  in  leading  a  sensible  life,  tempered  with  a  strong  feel- 
ing of  personal  responsibility. 

"The  first  of  these  aims  is  part  of  a  technical  educa- 
tion; the  second  is  part  of  a  moral  and  intellectual  educa- 
tion. But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  first  aim  also 
has  intellectual  and  moral  tendencies  of  high  moment,  and 
that  the  second,  as  will  be  shown  later  on  in  detail,  can  be 
attained  only  through  the  first  and  as  a  continuation  of  it." 


Medical    Inspection,    Modern    Hygiene    and 
Physical  Training 

One  of  the  most  promising  developments  in 
city  schools  in  the  past  two  decades  relates  to 
systematic  care  of  the  health  of  children.  In 
1894,  following  serious  epidemics  among  school 
children,  the  city  of  Boston  organized  a  system 
of  medical  inspection  of  its  schools.  The  city 
was  divided  into  fifty  districts  and  a  physician 
was  placed  in  charge  of  each  district,  with  in- 
struction to  inspect  the  children  residing  therein. 
As  the  system  worked  well,  it  was  soon  intro- 
duced in  other  cities.  In  1895  Chicago  was  di- 
vided into  nine  districts  for  the  purpose  of  med- 
ical inspection  of  its  schools.  New  York,  in 
1897,  appointed  one  hundred  and  thirty-four 
medical  inspectors  to  care  for  the  health  of 
school  children.  Philadelphia  and  many  other 
cities  followed  in  rapid  succession. 

A  recent  investigation  of  the  matter  con- 
ducted by  the  Department  of  Child  Hygiene  of 

[276] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  brought  out  the 
fact  that  in  1911,  443  cities  in  the  United  States 
had  adopted  some  system  of  medical  inspection 
in  the  public  schools.  This  number  constitutes 
about  43  per  cent  of  the  cities  of  the  country 
and  a  much  larger  percentage  of  the  whole  pop- 
ulation. One  hundred  and  six  of  the  443  cities 
have  placed  the  medical  inspection  in  charge  of 
boards  of  health,  while  337  have  entrusted  it  to 
boards  of  education. 

Three  classes  of  medical  work  are  conducted: 
Inspection  for  the  detection  of  contagious  dis- 
eases, examinations  to  detect  defective  vision 
and  hearing,  and  complete  physical  examina- 
tions of  pupils  to  detect  physical  defects  or 
organic  diseases.  Practically  all  cities  that  have 
taken  up  the  work  include  detection  of  con- 
tagious diseases  as  one  feature  of  the  medical  in- 
spection. In  many  cities,  the  work  of  making 
tests  for  defective  vision  and  hearing  is  en- 
trusted to  teachers.  The  work  of  the  teachers 
is  usually  followed  by  that  of  physicians  in 
cases  where  a  teacher's  report  indicates  disease 
or  defective  sense  organs.  In  a  large  number 
of  cities  school  nurses  are  employed  to  examine 
children  and  to  aid  the  teacher  in  detecting  the 
first  signs  of  approaching  illness.  The  nurse 
is  able  to  reduce  the  number  of  children  that 
would  be  excluded  from  school  on  account  of 
minor  ills  and  to  secure  prompt  attention  for 

[277] 


MODERN    CITIES 

children  that  are  threatened  with  serious  sick- 
ness. 

The  work  of  medical  inspection  has  proved 
of  great  value  in  checking  the  spread  of  conta- 
gious disease  in  the  school  and  community  and 
in  securing  the  correction  of  minor  physical  de- 
fects in  children,  such  as  decaying  teeth,  ade- 
noids and  faulty  vision.  As  these  defects  are 
among  the  principal  causes  of  physical  and 
mental  retardation,  their  removal  proves  of 
great  aid  to  children  and  to  the  efficiency  of 
schools.  Many  a  child  that  appears  backward 
and  seems  to  take  no  interest  in  its  studies  is 
naturally  neither  feeble-minded  nor  lazy,  but 
its  apparent  indifference  is  caused  by  some  physi- 
cal defect.  When  the  difficulty  is  removed,  the 
child  becomes  normal  and  takes  an  active  in- 
terest in  school  work.  While  it  might  be  said 
that  parents  should  recognize  defects  in  their 
children  and  have  them  treated  by  the  family 
physician,  the  fact  remains  that  many  parents 
are  too  ignorant  to  give  proper  attention  to 
the  matter,  and  others  are  indifferent  to  the  wel- 
fare of  their  children.  In  such  circumstances, 
the  city  or  the  state  is  fully  justified  in  assu- 
ming parental  care  over  the  child  and  helping  it 
to  develop  physically  as  well  as  mentally. 

No  more  important  idea  has  ever  been  ad- 
vanced in  education  than  the  modern  concep- 
tion that  the  whole  child  goes  to  school,  that  the 

[278] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

school  takes  the  place  of  the  parent,  not  only 
in  giving  mental  instruction,  but  in  caring  for 
every  phase  of  the  child's  welfare.  If  a  child 
goes  to  school  with  a  contagious  disease,  it  must 
be  cared  for,  not  only  for  its  own  sake,  but  for 
the  safety  of  the  school  and  community.  A 
child  going  to  school  with  a  vicious  habit  is  no 
less  a  danger  to  itself  and  the  community.  In 
perhaps  a  less  degree  the  child  suffering  from 
any  defect  that  will  tend  to  retard  its  develop- 
ment must  be  helped  for  the  good  of  the  state  as 
well  as  for  its  own  welfare. 

In  addition  to  work  done  for  the  prevention 
of  diseases  and  the  removal  of  physical  defects 
through  the  agency  of  physicians,  many  cities 
are  adopting  new  methods  of  hygiene  that  are 
proving  of  great  efficacy  in  promoting  the  health 
of  school  children.  These  new  methods  have  to 
do  with  the  cleaning  and  ventilation  of  the  school- 
room, the  prevention  of  the  transmission  of 
germs  by  common  drinking-cups,  the  use  of 
sanitary  appliances  and  the  giving  to  children 
an  opportunity  for  outdoor  recreation. 

Under  the  old  method  of  cleaning  a  school- 
room, the  janitors  would  sweep  with  an  ordinary 
broom,  and  after  the  dust  raised  by  the  broom 
had  settled,  the  desks  and  other  furniture  would 
be  dusted  with  a  feather  duster.  Floors  were 
rarely  washed  and  never  oiled.  The  blackboards 
likewise  were  seldom  washed  and  the  erasers 

[279] 


MODERN   CITIES 

never  cleaned.  Under  this  method  the  school- 
room remained  always  dusty,  and  in  case  con- 
tagious disease  germs  found  a  lodgment,  some 
of  them  would  cling  to  the  dust  particles  and 
would  from  time  to  time  find  lodgment  in  the 
throats  and  air-passages  of  pupils  occupying 
the  room.  The  new  method  of  hygiene  regards 
dust  as  an  enemy  to  the  school  and  every  pos- 
sible means  is  taken  to  eliminate  it.  Floors  are 
oiled  and  cleaning  is  conducted  by  means  of 
washing  or  the  use  of  damp  cloths.  Windows 
and  blackboards,  as  well  as  the  furniture  of  the 
room,  are  frequently  washed  and  the  blackboard 
erasers  are  taken  from  the  room  to  be  thor- 
oughly cleaned.  Schools  most  advanced  in 
matters  of  sanitary  cleaning  are  using  vacuum 
cleaners  to  remove  dust. 

Under  the  old  method  of  ventilation,  the  air 
was  permitted  to  come  in  the  schoolroom 
through  cracks  in  windows  and  doors.  Some- 
times, when  weather  would  permit,  the  windows 
would  be  opened.  When  the  need  of  proper 
ventilation  came  to  be  realized,  a  gravity  system 
of  ventilation  was  adopted  in  many  city  schools. 
While  promising  well  in  theory  this  system 
never  worked  satisfactorily,  and  in  many  schools 
in  which  it  was  installed  no  effort  was  made  to 
use  it.  The  modern  school  of  the  advanced  type 
leaves  nothing  to  chance  in  the  way  of  venti- 
lation. A  method  of  forced  ventilation  is 

[280] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

adopted,  by  means  of  which  a  generous  supply 
of  fresh  air  of  the  proper  temperature  is  forced 
into  the  schoolrooms  and  fans  for  the  removal 
of  impure  air  are  provided.  Under  this  system, 
pupils  are  continually  supplied  with  the  needed 
oxygen  without  being  subjected  to  the  dangers 
of  drafts  or  sudden  changes  of  temperature. 
The  new  method  not  only  promotes  the  health 
of  children,  but  is  conducive  to  a  higher  degree 
of  mental  work. 

The  old  method  of  supplying  drinking  water 
to  school  children  was  to  have  a  faucet  in  a  sink 
in  a  corridor,  with  one  or  two  tin  or  granite-ware 
cups  chained  thereto.  These  cups  were  used  in 
common  by  all  the  children,  and  the  cup  after 
being  attached  to  the  chain  received  no  further 
attention  until  worn  out.  It  is  commonly  be- 
lieved that  this  method  of  providing  drinking 
water  to  school  children  has  been  the  means  of 
disseminating  many  diseases.  The  common 
drinking-cup  is  now  everywhere  condemned. 
Its  complete  banishment  from  the  schoolroom 
is  only  a  matter  of  time.  The  better  class  of 
schools  are  providing  individual  drinking-cups 
and  sanitary  fountains.  Of  the  two,  the  sani- 
tary fountain  is  much  to  be  preferred.  So  long 
as  the  water-supply  is  pure  there  is  no  possi- 
bility of  the  spread  of  disease  from  the  sanitary 
drinking  fountain.  The  safety  of  individual 
cups  depends  upon  their  kind  and  the  use  made 

[281] 


MODERN    CITIES 

of  them.  Their  adoption  is  not  to  be  recom- 
mended, except  under  a  system  that  will  insure 
hygienic  use. 

In  the  modern  schoolroom  the  health  of  chil- 
dren is  also  promoted  by  means  of  proper  school 
furniture.  Among  various  articles  introduced, 
the  adjustable  desk  is  entitled  to  first  place. 
There  are  many  types  of  adjustable  desks,  but 
all  agree  in  being  so  constructed  that  they  can 
be  raised  or  lowered  to  suit  the  needs  of  pupils. 
These  desks  promote  the  comfort  of  the  child 
and  prevent  to  a  large  degree  bodily  defects  that 
arise  from  unnatural  postures  assumed  on  ac- 
count of  ill-fitting  desks.  Better  types  of  black- 
boards and  erasers  are  being  introduced,  so  that 
dust  from  the  use  of  the  blackboard  is  largely 
eliminated. 

In  the  old-fashioned  country  school  and  in 
many  country  schools  of  the  present  time,  a 
recess  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes  is 
given  in  the  middle  of  the  morning  session  of  the 
school  and  another  in  the  middle  of  the  after- 
noon session.  At  this  recess  the  children  of  the 
school  go  out  into  the  yard  and  play  games  or 
stroll  about  the  grounds.  In  cities  a  general 
recess  of  this  kind  is  not  usually  found  prac- 
ticable. However,  a  large  percentage  of  schools 
give  a  recess  in  the  elementary  grades.  The 
desirability  of  a  short  period  of  outdoor  recre- 
ation to  break  the  half-day  sessions  of  the  school 

[282] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

in  all  grades  of  work,  is  generally  recognized, 
and  most  cities  are  making  provision  for  its 
adoption  or  continuance.  The  modern  school 
goes  a  step  farther  in  promoting  the  physical 
welfare  of  its  pupils.  A  well-equipped  gymna- 
sium is  now  considered  essential  in  the  city  high 
school  and  a  thoroughly  equipped  playground 
is  likewise  deemed  a  necessity  in  connection  with 
the  elementary  school.  A  competent  physical 
instructor  is  placed  in  charge  of  the  gymnasium, 
and  pupils  of  the  school  are  given  systematic 
instruction  relative  to  the  care  and  development 
of  their  bodies.  Unfortunately,  many  physical 
instructors  consider  the  routine  of  exercises  the 
most  important  part  of  their  work  and  give  but 
little  attention  to  the  individual  needs  of  the 
pupils.  This,  however,  does  not  apply  to  the 
better  class  of  physical  instructors.  The  aim 
of  the  best  physical  instruction  is  to  build  up  the 
physique  of  each  individual  pupil.  The  physical 
instructor  ascertains  by  means  of  measurements 
and  tests  the  physical  needs  of  the  child,  and 
then  takes  the  proper  steps  to  supply  these 
needs.  Children  are  taught  to  stand,  walk  and 
sit  properly.  They  are  given  instruction  rela- 
tive to  eating,  drinking  and  sleeping.  The 
physical  exercises  assigned  to  each  pupil  are 
devised  to  meet  his  peculiar  needs.  Although 
some  drills  are  given  in  gymnasium  exercises, 
the  open-air  is  preferred  and  exhilarating  exer- 

[283] 


MODERN    CITIES 

cises,  such  as  skating  or  playing  games,  is  pre- 
ferred to  walking  or  non-competitive  drills. 
The  physical  instructor  and  the  medical  inspec- 
tor work  in  harmony  in  building  up  the  bodies 
of  children  entrusted  to  their  care. 

It  has  been  found  that  a  large  percentage 
of  school  children  have  curvature  of  the  spine. 
If  discovered  and  given  proper  treatment,  the 
curvature  in  most  cases  can  be  corrected.  This 
forms  one  of  the  important  phases  of  the  work 
of  the  physical  instructor. 

We  have  made  no  reference  to  the  develop- 
ment of  special  physical  instruction  for  each 
sex  which  is  taking  place  in  our  best  high 
schools.  Girls  in  a  modern  high  school  are 
placed  in  charge  of  a  competent  physical  instruc- 
tor, who  carefully  studies  the  physique  of  each 
pupil  and  does  everything  in  her  power  to  pro- 
mote their  physical  well-being. 

Associated  with  the  work  of  physical  instruc- 
tion and  school  hygiene,  is  the  school  garden 
idea  which  now  takes  such  a  large  place  in  edu- 
cational literature.  The  school  garden  has  three 
principal  aims:  first,  development  of  the  child's 
interest  in  the  cultivation  of  plants  and  flowers; 
second,  promotion  of  the  health;  third,  inculca- 
tion of  habits  of  work,  and  cooperation.  In  the 
school  garden,  each  child  is  assigned  a  plot  of 
ground,  furnished  with  seeds  and  tools,  and  is 

[284] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

given  instruction  in  methods  of  cultivating  the 
soil,  planting  seeds  and  caring  for  plants.  To 
a  very  considerable  extent,  the  child  is  permitted 
to  choose  the  kind  of  plants  he  will  raise  and 
to  dispose  of  his  products  as  he  sees  fit.  The 
child  works  in  harmony  with  others.  He  is 
not  permitted  to  interfere  with  the  work  of  other 
pupils  and  others  are  not  permitted  to  inter- 
fere with  him.  The  child  readily  sees  that  rules 
of  procedure  in  the  garden  arise  from  natural 
conditions.  He  also  soon  recognizes  the  fact 
that  what  he  sows  he  will  reap,  and  the  measure 
of  his  crop  will  be  gauged  by  the  attention  and 
care  he  has  exercised.  Work  out-of-doors  in  the 
midst  of  a  favorable  environment  is  healthful 
and  stimulating.  The  interest  aroused  by  the 
sense  of  ownership  and  pride  in  the  production 
of  things  of  beauty  adds  to  the  child's  self- 
respect  and  ambition.  It  is  not  expected  that 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  agriculture  or  garden- 
ing will  be  obtained  from  the  school  garden, 
and  pupils  who  work  the  gardens  are  not  ex- 
pected to  be  gardeners,  but  all  of  them  will 
have  a  greater  or  less  opportunity  of  cultivat- 
ing plants  in  their  own  gardens  or  homes. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  school  garden,  by 
training  children  to  care  properly  for  plants, 
serves  to  bring  cheerfulness  into  many  barren 
homes. 

[285] 


MODERN    CITIES 

The  Wider  Use  of  the  School  Plant 

A  movement  of  unusual  significance  has  re- 
cently taken  place  in  connection  with  the  use 
of  public  school  buildings  in  cities.  It  had  been 
a  long  and  well-established  custom  in  America 
to  use  school  buildings  for  school  purposes  only, 
and  it  was  thought  decidedly  improper  to  admit 
anything  that  savored  of  the  nature  of  an  enter- 
tainment. The  same  idea  with  reference  to  the 
school  building  obtained  in  the  larger  and  some 
of  the  smaller  villages.  In  the  country,  however, 
where  the  schoolhouse  formed  the  only  avail- 
able meeting-place  of  the  neighborhood,  people 
by  common  consent  often  made  the  schoolhouse 
the  social  center.  On  Sunday,  church  service 
would  be  held  in  the  schoolhouse,  and  during 
the  week  there  would  be  occasional  meetings  in 
the  schoolhouse  for  debates,  prayer  meetings 
and  entertainments.  The  extent  of  the  use  in  any 
case  was  determined  by  the  needs  of  the  people. 
If  a  neighborhood  possessed  a  church  or  hall, 
the  school  building  would  be  used  only  for  school 
purposes,  but  in  many  instances  it  was  the  rally- 
ing place  of  the  neighborhood  and,  consequently, 
has  furnished  the  "historical  precedent"  for  the 
wider  use  of  school  buildings  in  cities. 

From  the  standpoint  of  its  advocates,  the 
wider  use  of  school  buildings  in  cities  is  to  be 
recommended,  first,  because  of  its  economic  gain, 

[286] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

and,  second,  because  of  its  social  advantages.  It 
is  argued  that  it  is  folly  for  a  community  to  erect 
a  costly  school  building  and  use  it  only  four  or 
five  hours  a  day,  when,  with  little  added  ex- 
pense, the  same  building  could  be  profitably 
used  for  ten  or  twelve  hours.  By  wider  use  of 
school  buildings,  the  public  acquires  the  equiva- 
lent of  a  double  rental,  or,  in  other  words,  gets 
twice  as  much  service  for  the  same  investment. 
As  a  social  factor,  the  value  of  the  school  build- 
ing increases  in  proportion  to  its  use.  The 
people  of  most  resident  sections  in  our  cities  are 
sadly  in  need  of  a  common  meeting-place. 
Wealthy  members  of  the  community  find  so- 
ciety in  clubs,  and  those  who  enjoy  drinking 
make  free  use  of  saloons,  but,  as  a  rule,  the 
larger  number  of  people  constituting  the  com- 
munity have  no  common  meeting-place.  When 
the  doors  of  the  school  building  are  thrown  open 
and  suitable  meeting-rooms  and  entertainments 
are  provided,  it  is  found  that  people  gladly 
avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  come  to- 
gether and  become  acquainted.  Under  proper 
supervision,  the  school  building  is  made  a  more 
elevating  meeting-place  than  the  saloon  or  even 
the  social  club. 

As  a  purely  educational  factor,  the  use  of  the 
school  building  may  also  be  greatly  extended. 
In  many  cities  its  wider  use  is  confined  to  even- 
ing schools,  lecture  courses,  public  debates,  and 

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MODERN    CITIES 

meetings  and  entertainments  of  school  societies. 
While  there  can  be  no  question  of  the  value  of 
these  things  they  do  not  enable  the  community 
to  realize  the  full  value  of  the  school  plant. 

The  movement  for  the  use  of  the  city  school- 
house  as  a  social  center  came  into  prominence 
in  Rochester,  in  1907.  A  large  number  of  civic, 
social  and  political  organizations  came  together 
and  formed  themselves  into  an  association  called 
the  "School  Extension  Committee."  More  than 
fifty  thousand  people  were  represented  by  the 
committee.  The  question  of  the  establishment 
of  social  centers  was  discussed  in  each  of  the 
various  organizations,  and  a  general  agreement 
upon  the  desirability  of  the  project  was  reached. 
The  committee  laid  the  matter  before  the  mayor 
and  common  council  and  was  successful  in  se- 
curing their  cooperation.  The  finance  commit- 
tee of  the  council  recommended  that  an  appro- 
priation of  five  thousand  dollars  be  made  for 
the  organization  of  school  extension  work.  This 
fund  was  to  cover  the  expenses  of  the  equipment 
and  maintenance  of  social  center  work  for  the 
first  year,  the  cost  of  equipping  two  play- 
grounds and  maintaining  them  during  the  sea- 
son, the  cost  of  out-of-door  grammar  school 
athletics,  and  the  expense  of  maintaining  one 
vacation  school  through  the  summer.  A  super- 
visor to  have  charge  of  the  entire  work,  with  the 
exception  of  the  vacation  school,  was  agreed 

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DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

upon.  The  committee  very  fortunately  selected 
Edward  J.  Ward,  a  college  man  with  experi- 
ence in  athletic  work,  who  had  also  successfully 
conducted  an  institutional  church.  Before  en- 
tering upon  his  work  in  Rochester,  Mr.  Ward 
visited  the  great  South  Park  System  of  Chicago 
with  its  play-grounds  and  municipal  centers. 
He  also  investigated  the  recreation  centers  and 
public  lecture  system  of  New  York  City.  He 
decided,  however,  not  to  follow  the  lines  of  work 
developed  in  these  cities,  but  to  take  up  a  new 
line  which  promised  better  results. 

Taking  the  little  red  school-house  of  the  coun- 
try neighborhood  as  typical  of  the  wider  service 
to  be  rendered  by  the1  city  school  building,  Mr. 
Ward  worked  out  an  elaborate  plan  and  se- 
cured the  hearty  cooperation  of  the  board  of 
education,  as  well  as  that  of  the  school  extension 
committee.  He  describes,  in  the  following 
words,  the  institution  as  he  conceived  it : 

"The  social  center  was  not  to  take  the  place  of  any  ex- 
isting institution;  it  was  not  to  be  a  charitable  medium  for 
the  service  particularly  of  the  poor;  it  was  not  to  be  a  new 
kind  of  evening  school;  it  was  not  to  take  the  place  of  any 
church  or  other  institution  of  moral  uplift;  it  was  not  to 
serve  simply  as  an  'Improvement  Association/  by  which 
the  people  in  one  community  should  seek  only  the  welfare 
of  their  district;  it  was  not  to  be  a  'civic  reform'  organiza- 
tion, pledged  to  some  change  in  city  or  state  or  national 
administration;  it  was  just  to  be  the  restoration  to  its  true 
place  in  social  life  of  that  most  American  of  all  institu- 
tions, the  public  school  center,  in  order  that  through  this 

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MODERN    CITIES 

extended  use  of  the  school  building  might  be  developed,  in 
the  midst  of  our  complex  life,  the  community  interest,  the 
neighborly  spirit,  the  democracy  that  we  knew  before  we 
came  to  the  city." 

Just  what  Mr.  Ward  had  in  mind  is  better 
indicated  by  the  equipment  and  program  pro- 
vided for  the  school  center.  The  aim  was  to 
make  the  center  as  interesting  and  profitable  as 
possible  to  the  greatest  number  of  people.  For 
those  who  were  interested  in  athletics,  there  was 
provided  a  gymnasium  with  all  its  accessories, 
including  baths.  For  those  who  desired  recre- 
ation, there  was  furnished  a  variety  of  table 
games.  For  those  who  desired  to  study  or  read, 
there  was  set  apart  a  well-equipped  library  and 
reading-room.  There  was  also  an  auditorium 
where  lectures  and  entertainments  were  given 
and  dances  held.  In  order  to  secure  the  largest 
use  of  the  institution  thus  provided,  self-gov- 
erning clubs  of  men,  women,  girls  and  boys  were 
organized.  In  arranging  for  the  discussions  and 
lectures  to  be  held  in  the  auditorium,  the  com- 
mittee decided  to  allow  the  widest  range  of 
topics,  not  even  tabooing  politics  and  religion. 

At  first,  the  school  extension  committee 
planned  to  fit  up  several  school  buildings  in 
different  parts  of  the  city  for  social  centers,  but 
in  view  of  the  limited  appropriation,  it  was 
finally  decided  to  concentrate  the  first  year's 
effort  on  one  institution,  and  for  this  purpose 

[290] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

school  building  No.  14  was  selected  in  a  repre- 
sentative district  made  up  of  respectable  middle- 
class  citizens  of  both  native  and  foreign  parent- 
age. The  building  was  duly  fitted  up  according 
to  Mr.  Ward's  plan,  and  it  was  decided  that 
the  social  center  should  be  open  every  evening 
except  Sunday,  from  7.30  to  10  o'clock.  Tues- 
day, Thursday  and  Saturday  evenings  were  set 
apart  for  the  use  of  men  and  boys,  Monday  and 
Wednesday  evenings  for  women  and  girls,  and 
Friday  evening  was  general  club  night,  for 
which  an  entertainment  or  lecture,  open  to  both 
men  and  women,  was  provided. 

The  social  center  was  formally  opened  on 
Friday  evening,  November  1,  1907.  Three 
hundred  and  fourteen  people  were  present. 
At  this  meeting,  the  president  of  the  board  of 
education  delivered  the  principal  address,  and 
Mr.  Ward  outlined  plans  for  the  winter.  At 
the  close  of  the  talks,  the  faculty  of  the  school 
served  refreshments.  Following  this  meeting,  a 
number  of  clubs  were  organized  and  the  work  of 
the  center  went  briskly  forward.  The  interest 
taken  by  the  neighborhood  is  indicated  by  at- 
tendance records  showing  that  in  November  the 
average  nightly  attendance  was  146;  in  Decem- 
ber, 142;  in  January,  153;  in  February,  162;  in 
March,  177,  and  in  April,  161.  At  the  end  of 
April,  the  regular  social  center  activities  were 
suspended,  although  the  various  clubs  continued 

[291] 


MODERN    CITIES 

to  meet  during  the  month  of  May.  The  total 
attendance  for  the  season  amounted  to  more 
than  25,000.  The  experiment  proved  so  success- 
ful that  the  board  of  education  decided  to 
equip  two  other  school  buildings  as  social  cen- 
ters the  second  year.  The  general  scheme  of  the 
first  year  was  continued,  although  a  few  impor- 
tant modifications  were  made.  The  policy  of 
organizing  a  large  number  of  small  clubs  was 
changed  and  fewer  but  larger  clubs  were  or- 
ganized. 

During  the  first  season,  the  social  centers  had 
been  closed  on  Sunday.  During  the  second  sea- 
son, however,  it  was  decided,  upon  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  ministerial  association,  to  allow 
the  use  of  the  centers  on  Sunday  as  on  week- 
days. The  second  season,  day-school  children 
were  not  permitted  to  attend  meetings  at  the 
center,  as  teachers  felt  that  the  children's  time 
should  be  devoted  to  lessons  at  home. 

As  1908  was  a  presidential  year,  great  inter- 
est was  manifested  in  the  open  political  dis- 
cussions which  occurred  at  centers  early  in  the 
season.  Distinguished  representatives  of  all  of 
the  principal  political  parties  appeared  on  en- 
tertainment nights  and  the  various  clubs 
engaged  in  lively  debates.  The  best  of  feeling 
was  maintained,  and  it  was  generally  felt  that 
the  educational  purpose  of  the  center  was  being 
well  fulfilled. 

[292] 


DEVELOPMENTS    IN    EDUCATION 

The  work  thus  being  done  in  Rochester  was 
soon  noised  abroad  and  the  "school  center" 
project  became  known  as  the  "Rochester  move- 
ment." In  the  spring  of  1909,  the  social  centers 
were  honored  by  a  visit  from  Governor  Hughes, 
who,  after  inspecting  the  various  features,  stated 
that  he  was  "more  interested  in  what  was  there 
being  done  than  in  anything  else  in  the  world." 

The  total  attendance  of  the  free  social  centers 
during  the  season  of  1908-09,  was  55,782.  The 
value  to  the  various  communities  in  which  the 
centers  were  located  was  incalculable.  A  new 
civic  spirit  had  been  aroused.  A  feeling  of  loy- 
alty and  pride  in  the  city  had  been  engendered, 
and  the  moral  tone  of  the  community  elevated. 

Unfortunately,  some  prominent  people  of  the 
city  were  offended  by  the  outspoken  utterances 
of  certain  speakers,  and  enough  influence  was 
secured  to  cut  down  the  appropriation  for  the 
centers.  The  movement  was  thus  temporarily 
checked  in  the  city  of  its  birth.  Other  cities, 
however,  had  recognized  the  value  of  the  idea, 
and  school  extension  work  in  various  forms  was 
introduced  in  many  sections  of  the  country.  Mr. 
Ward  was  called  from  Rochester  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin  and  made  adviser  to  the 
bureau  of  civic  and  social  center  development. 
He  is  now  engaged  in  building  up  social  cen- 
ters in  various  parts  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin. 

The  state  universities  of  Virginia,  California, 

[293] 


MODERN    CITIES 

Kansas,  Missouri,  Texas  and  Oklahoma  have 
'also  taken  up  the  work  of  extending  the  social 
center.  In  Kentucky,  the  Philosophic  League, 
a  group  of  social  students,  have  raised  a  fund  for 
the  erection  of  a  model  school-house  which  is 
to  be  specially  adapted  for  the  use  of  the  com- 
munity. The  University  of  Texas  is  likewise 
sending  out  circulars  giving  plans  for  the  build- 
ing of  a  school-house  for  a  community  club.  The 
movement  has  spread  to  Oregon  and  other  states 
in  the  far  west. 

We  have  thus  described  at  some  length  this 
new  educational  movement,  for,  although  social 
in  its  purpose,  it  is  truly  educational,  and  as 
such  it  seems  to  be  the  one  thing  most  needed. 
The  people  of  a  city  need  a  common  meeting 
ground,  and  having  the  school  building  which 
is  so  easily  modified  for  this  new  purpose,  it 
seems  a  rational  and  wise  thing  to  enlarge  its 
service  for  the  community. 


[294] 


CHAPTER   XIV 

RELIGION  AND   MUNICIPAL  LIFE 

A  RIDE  on  the  Appian  Way  in  Rome  affords 
a  lesson  to  modern  road  engineers.  This  high- 
way has  seen  centuries  roll  on  and  civilization 
come  and  go ;  yet  does  service  to-day.  We  came 
to  the  little  church  of  Domine  Quo  Vadis.  Tra- 
dition has  it  that  St.  Peter,  fleeing  from  death 
as  a  martyr,  was  met  here  by  his  Master.  Peter 
asked  "Domine  quo  vadis?"  (Lord,  where  go- 
est  Thou?)  Jesus  replied  "Venio  iterum  cruci- 
figi."  (I  come  to  be  crucified  again.)  To  add 
a  touch  of  reality  to  the  legend,  you  are  shown 
by  a  simple  old  woman  the  imprint  of  the  feet 
of  Jesus  in  marble.  The  prophet  of  righteous- 
ness was  fleeing  from  his  task.  Back  of  him  was 
the  great  city  that  needed  all  his  help  and  all 
the  sacrifice  he  could  make  for  the  betterment 
of  municipal  life. 

The  story  of  Peter's  flight  in  one  form  and 
another  has  been  repeated  too  long.  Cities 
have  been  neglected ;  have  been  left  in  the  hands 
of  unconscionable  scoundrels,  who  have  ground 
the  faces  of  the  poor,  extracted  privilege  money 

[295] 


MODERN    CITIES 

from  those  who  sold  their  souls  and  bodies,  made 
themselves  rich  by  bartering  away  precious  fran- 
chises the  results  of  labor  and  the  sacrifice  of  its 
citizens,  sold  monopolies  of  all  kinds  that  added 
burdens  upon  undeserving  citizens ;  in  fine,  cities 
have  been  left  to  the  mercies  of  the  lower  in- 
stincts of  humanity,  all  because  everybody  has 
been  running  away  from  his  task;  no  one  has 
been  prepared  to  make  the  sacrifice  necessary 
to  bring  about  a  better  order  of  things.  The 
citizen  has  been  as  indifferent  as  the  manipulator 
has  been  alert.  But  the  better  day  is  here. 
Peter  went  back  to  Rome  even  at  the  cost  of 
his  life.  Rome  was  worth  the  sacrifice.  To-day 
the  prophet  and  reformer  are  doing  the  same 
thing.  There  are  a  thousand  hopeful  signs.  The 
labor  and  sacrifice  of  good  men  are  beginning  to 
count  significantly. 

To  accentuate  the  fact  of  the  neglect  of  mu- 
nicipalities let  us  contrast  the  attitude  of  good 
men  in  the  seventeenth  century  with  that  of 
men  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth.  John 
Bunyan  voices  accurately  the  attitude  of  Chris- 
tian civilization  as  he  found  it.  In  his  im- 
mortal allegory  he  saw  in  his  dream  a  pilgrim 
who  lived  in  a  city.  One  day  he  informed  his 
family:  "O,  my  dear  wife,"  said  he,  "and  you 
the  children  of  my  bowels,  I,  your  dear  friend, 
am  in  myself  undone,  by  reason  of  a  burden 
that  lieth  hard  upon  me;  moreover,  I  am  for 

[296] 


RELIGION  AND  MUNICIPAL  LIFE 

certain  informed  that  this,  our  city,  will  be 
burned  with  fire  from  heaven,  in  which  fearful 
overthrow,  both  myself,  with  thee,  my  wife, 
and  you  my  sweet  babes,  shall  miserably  come 
to  ruin;  except  (the  which  yet,  I  see  not)  some 
way  of  escape  can  be  found,  whereby  we  may 
be  delivered.  ...  So  I  saw  in  my  dream, 
that  the  man  began  to  run;  now  he  had  not  run 
far  from  his  own  door,  but  his  wife  and  children 
perceiving  it,  began  to  cry  after  him  to  return; 
but  the  man  put  his  fingers  in  his  ears,  and  ran 
on  crying,  Life,  Life,  Eternal  Life :  so  he  looked 
not  behind  him,  but  fled  toward  the  middle  of  the 
plain." 

We  do  not  intend  to  mistake  the  intent  of 
this  beautiful  dream,  but  unconsciously  it  ex- 
presses an  attitude  which  has  dominated  the 
religion  of  the  followers  of  Jesus.  This  attitude 
holds  to  the  salvation  of  the  individual  as  the 
supreme  thing.  Cities  may  go  to  destruction, 
but  city,  wife  and  child  must  be  abandoned  in 
order  to  gain  entrance  to  the  heavenly  city  of 
the  future.  Civic  life,  with  its  particulars  of 
road-making,  reservoirs,  and  sewers,  pure  milk 
and  transportation,  parks  and  places  of  recrea- 
tion, are  insignificant  interests  of  the  present 
time.  They  have  no  part  or  parcel  in  the 
weightier  things  of  eternal  existence.  They  are 
perishable  and  sinful  and  any  one  that  gives 
them  close  attention  has  not  attained  to  the  alti- 

[297] 


MODERN    CITIES 

tude  from  which  he  can  discount  them  and  hold 
them  as  trivialities,  incidental  to  his  pilgrimage 
toward  a  better  and  more  heavenly  home. 

George  Eliot  shows  how  this  sort  of  puritan- 
ism  was  of  little  value  in  contributing  to  the 
betterment  of  earthly  life.  In  an  essay  on 
"Worldliness  and  Other- Worldliness"  she  makes 
a  comparison  between  Edward  Young,  the  au- 
thor of  "Night  Thoughts,"  and  William  Cow- 
per.  The  two  poets  well  illustrate  the  attitude 
of  religious  people  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
Young  says: 

"Life  is  the  desert,  life  the  solitude; 
Death  joins  us  to  the  great  majority; 
It  is  to  be  born  to  Plato  and  to  Caesar: 
It  is  to  be  great  forever: 
It  is  pleasure,  it  is  ambition,  then,  to  die." 

He  apostrophizes  man  in  such  terms  as: 
"Thou  child  of  dust!  Thou  speck  of  misery  and 
sin!"  George  Eliot  says:  "Young  has  no  con- 
ception of  religion  as  anything  else  than  egoism 
turned  heavenward;  and  he  does  not  merely 
imply  this,  he  insists  on  it.  Religion,  he  tells 
us  in  argumentative  passages  too  long  to  quote, 
is  ambition,  pleasure,  and  love  of  gain,  directed 
toward  the  joys  of  the  future  life  instead  of 
the  present.  And  his  ethics  correspond  to  his 
religion.  He  vacillates,  indeed,  in  his  ethical 
theory,  and  shifts  his  position  in  order  to  suit  his 
immediate  purpose  in  argument;  but  he  never 

[298] 


RELIGION  AND  MUNICIPAL  LIFE 

changes  his  level  so  as  to  see  beyond  the  horizon 
of  mere  selfishness.  Sometimes  he  insists,  as 
we  have  seen,  that  the  belief  in  a  future  life 
is  the  only  basis  of  morality." 

In  sharp  contrast  with  all  this,  "What  is 
Cowper's  answer,  when  he  imagines  some  sage 
erudite,  profound,  asking  him,  'What's  the 
world  to  you? ' — 

'Much,  I  was  born  of  woman,  and  drew  milk 
As  sweet  as  charity  from  human  breasts. 
I  think,  articulate,  I  laugh  and  weep. 
And  exercise  all  functions  of  a  man. 
How  then  should  I  and  any  man  that  lives 
Be  strangers  to  each  other?  '  " 

The  nineteenth  century  witnessed  the  dawn- 
ing of  a  new  attitude.  Religion,  on  its  prac- 
tical side,  was  seen  to  be  vitally  concerned  with 
humanity,  and  things  of  the  environment  of  its 
life.  Religion  in  that  view  is  none  other  than 
the  best  living  possible  to  human  beings.  Ideal 
earthly  cities  will  not  in  the  least  discount  the 
idealized  joys  of  a  heavenly  city.  Cleanliness 
and  beauty  of  environment  are  not  inconsistent 
with  a  noble  and  moral  life;  nay,  rather,  we 
should  say  they  were  the  absolutely  necessary 
conditions  of  such  life.  A  theology  for  the  pres- 
ent day  is  worthless  unless  it  has  a  sound  soci- 
ology as  a  working  force.  We  see  it  no  longer 
to  be  our  duty  to  sing,  "Earth  is  a  desert  drear, 
heaven  is  my  home."  It  is  our  paramount  duty 

[299] 


MODERN    CITIES 

to  convert  the  desert  into  the  garden  of  the 
Lord.  It  is  all  very  well  to  dream  of  a  heavenly 
Jerusalem  amid  the  filth  and  unsanitary  condi- 
tions of  oriental  life,  but  it  is  given  to  our  west- 
ern civilization  to  imitate  Prometheus  in  as- 
cending the  heavens  and  stealing  a  little  of  the 
ideal  to  plant  it  on  earth. 

This  indifference  in  the  past  of  organized  re- 
ligion regarding  municipal  life  has  been  responsi- 
ble for  much  mismanagement,  if  not  for  all. 
Good  men  have  been  exhorted  to  keep  away 
from  politics.  Such  worldly  and  unrighteous 
things  were  for  the  children  of  darkness  alone. 
The  minister  was  cautioned  not  to  meddle  with 
matters  of  municipal  government ;  he  had  better 
address  himself  to  the  task  of  saving  men  from 
future  destruction.  But  a  new  impulse  is  under 
way.  There  are  a  thousand  good  ministers  in 
each  state  addressing  themselves  to  the  problem 
of  saving  men  from  the  gambler's  den,  the 
brothel  and  the  saloon.  The  men  and  women 
of  the  future  must  be  kept  without  contamina- 
tion. The  municipality  may  be  likened  to  an 
organism  whose  health  is  conditioned  on  the 
health  of  each  cell.  If  a  family  be  compelled 
to  live  amid  physical  and  moral  contaminations, 
six  days  in  the  week,  these  influences  will  nullify 
all  that  the  church  will  do  for  it  on  Sunday. 

It  is  an  easy,  and  not  the  less  dangerous, 
process  to  generalize  concerning  the  influences 

[300] 


RELIGION  AND  MUNICIPAL  LIFE 

of  religion  on  civic  life.  They  are  unquestion- 
ably potent.  And  yet  they  are  so  inextricably 
interwoven  with  other  influences  that  it  is  very 
difficult  to  isolate  them  so  that  we  can  properly 
measure  them.  Already  there  are  many  sug- 
gestions offered  in  the  new  endeavors  toward 
better  municipal  life  under  the  new  impulses 
felt  in  religion.  The  church  is  now  addressing 
itself  more  and  more  to  the  life  that  now  is. 
There  has  been  no  organization  among  us  that 
has  given  such  impetus  to  all  noble  efforts.  The 
very  principles  of  the  founder  of  Christianity 
are  certainly  antagonistic  to  any  form  of  un- 
righteous municipal  management,  despite  the 
fact  that  the  officers  of  religion  have  frequently 
winked  at  these  things.  When  Jesus  spoke,  it  was 
about  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  His  words  were 
uttered  in  pre- scientific  days.  The  world  was 
not  large.  Men  were  not  called  upon  to  deal 
with  the  great  aggregates  now  found  in  cities. 
The  germ  theory  of  disease  had  not  been  dis- 
covered. Typhoid  fever  was  taken  as  the  judg- 
ment of  God;  men  at  that  early  time  could  not 
and  we  should  not  expect  them  to  see  it  was  one 
of  those  filth  diseases  for  which  there  is  abso- 
lutely no  plea  for  its  tolerance  in  modern  mu- 
nicipal life. 

A  city  to-day  that  suffers  either  from  typhoid 
or  cholera  ought  to  be  heartily  ashamed  of  it- 
self. How  forcibly  we  saw  the  bearing  of  this 

[soi] 


MODERN    CITIES 

remark  on  the  experience  of  Altona  and  Ham- 
burg, Germany,  in  1892.  These  neighboring 
cities  are  practically  one  community;  the 
stranger  does  not  know  when  he  passes  from  one 
to  the  other.  And  yet  a  superficial  dividing  line 
became  the  line  of  demarcation  for  cholera 
simply  for  the  reason  that  while  both  cities  used 
water  from  the  river  Elbe,  Altona  used  scien- 
tific methods  of  filtration  and  Hamburg  did  not. 
These  things  we  know  to-day.  There  is  now 
no  excuse  for  typhoid,  cholera,  tuberculosis,  or 
many  other  forms  of  disease  in  municipal  com- 
munities. No  one  can  attend  church  and  listen 
to  the  words  of  the  founder  of  Christianity  and 
find  in  them  any  excuse  for  the  destruction  of 
human  life,  from  neglect.  The  principles  of 
Christianity  must  find  application  to  present 
conditions  through  what  knowledge  we  possess. 

Theological  schools  are  beginning  to  see  these 
things.  The  new  minister  must  be  an  expert  in 
matters  municipal — that  is  to  say,  he  must  possess 
enough  knowledge  to  stimulate  his  fellow  men  to 
live  in  the  best  possible  way.  A  member  of  a 
common  council  once  stated  to  the  writer  that  he 
did  not  like  to  see  ministers  appear  before  the 
council.  Their  ideals,  he  thought,  were  all  right, 
but  they  did  not  know  what  they  were  talking 
about.  They  could  not  appreciate  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  problem;  they  never  had  any  sug- 
gestions to  make  looking  toward  the  solution  of 

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RELIGION  AND  MUNICIPAL  LIFE 

anything  that  was  wrong.  They  knew  much 
about  heaven,  but  problems  of  sewerage,  sa- 
loons and  brothels  were  beyond  them.  Who  is 
better  fitted  to  deal  with  the  moral  life  of  a 
city  than  a  minister  of  religion?  We  look  for- 
ward to  the  day  when  the  splendid  work  now 
done  by  a  few  faithful  and  self-sacrificing  min- 
isters shall  be  done  by  all  of  them.  When  this 
comes  about,  we  shall  see  a  great  improvement 
in  municipal  life.  The  church  must  consider 
itself  the  great  municipal  preserver  and  the 
stimulator  of  its  best  life. 

It  would  indeed  be  a  superficial  survey  of  the 
facts  of  human  life  and  a  very  careless  analysis 
of  religious  experience,  to  seek  to  prove  that 
any  particular  division  of  Christianity  had  a 
potency  beyond  all  others  in  securing  for  munici- 
pal life  capable  management.  Italy  to-day  is  an 
example  of  a  far-reaching  revolution,  so  far  as 
organized  religious  forces  are  concerned.  The 
modernist  sees  no  reason  why  he  cannot  be  a 
good  catholic  and  yet  accept  the  results  of  sci- 
entific and  philosophical  thought.  The  Catholic 
who  is  progressive  in  social  reform  is  unable  to 
see  why  he  cannot  be  both  a  devout  Catholic  and 
a  good  sociologist.  Sometimes  the  Vatican  has 
adopted  a  policy  that  seemed  to  make  these  atti- 
tudes incompatible.  Such  a  policy  may  have  a 
wisdom  yet  to  be  revealed,  but,  if  the  intention 
is  to  sustain  authority  to  the  utmost  limit  before 

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MODERN    CITIES 

yielding,  and  then  to  demonstrate  that  absolute 
authority  is  best  capable  of  securing  justice  and 
toleration  by  legalizing  developments  in  the- 
ology and  sociology  when  they  seem  to  be  in- 
evitable, or  on  the  other  hand,  to  resist  at  any 
cost  new  movements,  each  method  at  present 
will  produce  an  unsatisfactory  state  of  affairs  in 
any  country  of  exalted  traditions,  fertile  soil, 
energy  in  resource,  creative  imagination,  virility 
of  thought  and  progressiveness  in  its  attitude 
toward  social  problems.  Everywhere  church 
attendance  is  pitifully  depleted,  everywhere 
flaunting  and  gibes  are  ready,  everywhere  it  is 
becoming  a  habit  to  cherish  skepticism  toward 
the  deepest  things  of  life.  Do  we  wonder  that, 
in  the  present  crisis,  men  are  liable  to  confuse 
religion  with  its  organized  expression? 

The  religious  enthusiast,  with  a  partiality  for 
some  particular  division  of  Christianity,  might 
say,  what  Italy  needs  is  either  protestantism, 
or  some  particular  sect  of  protestantism; 
this  would  regenerate  her  cities,  giving  them 
capable  municipal  administrations.  We  are 
sorry  to  point  out  the  error  in  such  an  at- 
titude. If  our  religious  enthusiast  points  the 
finger  of  scorn  at  southern  Italy  and  Naples  in 
particular,  and  charges  up  the  squalor,  beggary 
and  degradation  of  the  people  to  Catholicism, 
what  will  he  say  of  the  ideal  cities  of  northern 
Italy — for  example  Turin  and  Milan?  Naples 

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RELIGION  AND  MUNICIPAL  LIFE 

is  now  forging  ahead  splendidly,  and  can  give 
points  in  expert  management  to  the  most  ad- 
vanced American  city.  The  municipal  admin- 
istration of  Rome  is  an  inspiration.  The  move- 
ment for  the  housing  of  the  poor,  especially  that 
under  the  management  of  the  " Institute  Romano 
Di  Beni  Stabili,"  has  previously  been  discussed 
in  this  work,  the  genius  of  it  being  Edoardo 
Talamo.  Who  can  fail  to  feel  inspired  by  a 
study  of  the  work  of  Dr.  Maria  Montessori  for 
the  education  of  children  in  connection  with 
better  housing?  She  and  Talamo  have  realized 
that  no  permanent  change  can  be  effected  with- 
out a  foundation  of  moral  and  physical  educa- 
tion. Dr.  Montessori  has  given  a  new  impulse 
to  primary  education.  We  could  speak  of  ac- 
complishments in  road  building,  city  planning, 
civic  art,  public  buildings,  and  a  thousand  other 
things  going  on  in  Catholic  countries  that  would 
cause  the  blush  to  those  who  pretend  that  cities 
under  protestantism  have  attained  to  better 
municipal  life.  Unfortunately  for  organized 
religion  no  particular  phase  of  Christianity  en- 
sures a  well-governed  municipality.  When  one 
moves  through  the  splendidly  managed  cities  of 
Turin,  Milan,  Geneva,  Bern,  Zurich,  Berlin, 
Dresden  and  Leipzig  he  will  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  a  predominance  either  of  Catholic  or 
protestant,  does  not  account  for  cleanliness,  san- 
itation, beauty  or  progressiveness  in  a  city;  some 

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MODERN   CITIES 

other  social  factor  is  responsible  for  it.  Have 
not  the  cities  of  the  United  States  been  plun- 
dered by  scoundrels,  turned  over  to  interests 
that  cared  more  for  their  own  incomes  than  for 
the  public  weal,  made  the  breeding-places  of  vice 
under  a  predominant  protestant  form  of  re- 
ligion? 

The  facts  which  reveal  themselves  in  the 
history  of  municipalities  are  too  stubborn  to 
yield  consolation  to  any  form  of  organized 
Christianity.  Must  we  then  say  that  religion 
has  nothing  to  do  with  municipal  life?  Are  we 
compelled  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  so  far 
as  municipal  life  is  concerned,  we  might  as  well 
have  irreligion?  Not  at  all.  This  would  be  a 
hasty,  an  unwarranted  conclusion.  Municipal 
life  is  only  an  expression  of  what  a  people  are, 
or  have  been,  from  generation  to  generation. 
Like  people,  like  cities.  The  cities  of  Chris- 
tendom, or  of  any  other  countries,  are  precisely 
what  the  temper  and  atmosphere  of  their  life 
have  made  them.  Cities  should  be  studied  to 
show  the  connection  between  religious  ideas 
which  have  prevailed  through  centuries,  and  the 
particular  modes  of  life  we  now  find  in  them. 

Such  a  study  would  reveal  vital  connections. 
Wherever  religion  has  been  virile,  wherever  it 
has  conceived  of  its  mission  as  being  supreme 
love  for  man,  the  betterment  of  the  race,  the 
elevation  of  the  citizen  through  education,  in 

[306] 


RELIGION  AND  MUNICIPAL  LIFE 

fine,  all  that  is  included  in  loving  one's  neighbor 
as  oneself;  wherever  these  ideals  have  prevailed 
even  in  a  fragmentary  way,  one  discovers  the 
best  civic  life.  It  makes  very  little  difference 
under  what  system  of  organized  religion  these 
ideals  are  cultivated.  They  will  prevail,  either 
because  of  an  organized  form  of  religion,  or 
in  spite  of  it.  We  may  give  credit  for  re- 
sults from  such  ideals  to  Catholicism  or  protes- 
tantism, or  to  neither.  It  is  almost  a  platitude 
to  say  that  consciousness  of  a  social  ideal  and  of 
all  that  this  means  in  the  concern  of  the  indi- 
vidual for  the  whole,  is  the  one  essential  of  mu- 
nicipal progress.  This  is  a  religious  ideal  that 
must  come  out  of  the  human  heart.  It  is  what 
religious  organizations  of  all  sorts  try  to  label 
for  their  own  show  windows  and  take  credit 
for.  Organization  is  a  sequence  of  religious 
fact,  not  the  cause  of  it,  it  is  the  incident  in  the 
onward  progress  of  the  social  group  and  not  at 
all  essential  to  it. 

On  these  broad  lines,  we  can  see  how  essential 
is  religion  to  municipal  life.  When  the  indi- 
vidual conceives  it  to  be  his  duty  to  live  for  the 
whole,  when  both  the  individual  and  lesser 
groups  of  individuals  are  always  ready  to  sacri- 
fice self-interest  to  public  weal — that  is  to  say 
when  they  are  prepared  to  subjugate  pleasures, 
possessions,  prejudices,  powers  and  preferences 
to  the  public  good,  then  and  not  until  then  shall 

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MODERN    CITIES 

we  have  ideally  governed  municipalities.  This 
sort  of  attitude  will  enable  us  to  utilize  the 
scientific  knowledge  we  possess  for  the  benefit 
of  citizens;  but  all  our  knowledge  will  be  of  no 
effect  unless  great  impulses  and  principles  are 
incorporated  into  conduct. 

One  of  the  very  weak  points  of  organized  re- 
ligion has  been  that  it  has  exalted  organiza- 
tion at  the  expense  of  great  formative  princi- 
ples. The  church,  making  itself  unsocial,  has 
sinned  against  the  municipality.  It  has  been 
more  concerned  with  its  particular  organization, 
than  with  the  public  weal.  In  this  way  it  has 
made  of  itself  a  little  group  differentiating 
itself  from  all  other  organizations,  and  even 
setting  itself  in  antagonism  to  them  by  ecclesias- 
tical arrogance,  as  if  it  regarded  itself  as  some- 
thing unique  and  over  against  citizenship  de- 
nominated, as  if  in  disdain,  "the  world."  In  spite 
of  this  attitude,  however,  it  has  done  some  splen- 
did sociological  work.  It  has  sent  missionaries 
into  the  slums;  it  has  labored  for  fallen  woman 
and  profligate  man;  it  has  frequently  minimized 
the  ravages  of  disease.  But  it  has  done  all  this 
from  an  impulse  of  its  own  particularism.  It  has 
always  done  it  propler  hoc.  It  has  been  regu- 
lated by  the  impulses  of  good  Samaritanism. 
After  the  man  has  fallen  among  thieves,  it  has 
hurried  to  the  rescue. 

[308] 


RELIGION  AND  MUNICIPAL  LIFE 

This  method,  in  the  light  of  present-day 
knowledge,  is  unsocial.  Why  wait  for  a  remedy 
when  a  prevention  is  possible?  Why  not  make 
good  Samaritanism  defunct?  The  scientific  so- 
ciological method  at  present  is  to  see  to  it  that 
the  road  between  Jerusalem  and  Jericho  be 
properly  policed  and  lighted  and  above  all  to 
do  something  for  those  misguided  and  unsocial 
thieves  that  maimed  and  despoiled  their  brother. 
A  thousand  sermons  will  call  attention  to  the 
goodness  of  the  Samaritan  and  the  wickedness 
of  the  thieves,  but  how  few  will  ask  that  some- 
thing be  done  for  the  robbers?  Do  they  also 
not  need  oil  and  wine?  What  has  produced 
them?  Is  not  neglect,  to  a  large  measure, 
responsible  for  their  being  thieves?  Can  we  not 
see  in  the  attitude  of  ecclesiasts  connected  with 
the  incident  of  the  man  fallen  among  thieves,  a 
primary  force  in  the  manufacture  of  the  thief? 
In  their  unsocial  conduct  they  went  by  on  the 
other  side.  Was  not  this  most  unsocial?  Has 
not  the  church  been  most  unsocial?  We  think 
it  has,  but  the  day  of  the  socialization  of  the 
church  is  approaching.  It  will  soon  be  more 
concerned  with  earthly  than  with  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem.  Church  buildings,  services  and  min- 
isters before  the  end  of  the  century  will,  we 
trust,  be  put  at  the  service  of  the  municipality. 
Then  we  shall  have  better  cities.  Then  and  not 

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MODERN    CITIES 

till  then  shall  graft  disappear.  Then  the  indi- 
vidual, by  being  thoroughly  socialized,  will  be- 
come completely  religionized. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  the  dyna- 
mic of  true  civics  in  the  end  must  be  an  abiding 
love  for  humanity.  With  this  the  church  can 
revolutionize  both  its  teaching  and  its  practise, 
and  those  who  have  the  interests  of  the  munici- 
pality at  heart  can  avoid  ameliorative  measures 
which  take  in  the  short  ranges  of  an  administra- 
tion, or  the  shift  which  postpones  the  funda- 
mental treatment  of  mismanagement  in  a  par- 
ticular direction.  This  dynamic  will  enable  us 
to  take  account  of  the  future  as  well  as  of  the 
present.  It  will  enable  us  to  see  that  the  citi- 
zen must  be  trained  with  the  distinct  purpose  of 
taking  his  part  in  the  life  of  the  community. 
The  moral  side  of  the  human  being  shall  not 
be  neglected  in  the  assumed  interest  of  his 
intellectual  nature.  To  train  the  citizen  thor- 
oughly to  know  that  it  will  be  an  injury  to  the 
city  to  have  him  steal  the  goods  of  his  fellow 
man,  or  to  deal  in  falsehoods  of  any  kind,  or 
to  violate  sexual  virtue,  are  more  important  for 
the  welfare  of  the  individual  and  the  community 
than  to  teach  him  algebra,  geometry  or  Greek. 
Not  that  we  discourage  mental  training ;  the  citi- 
zen needs  all  he  can  procure.  But  moral  training 
is  of  paramount  importance  and  should  not  be 
neglected. 

[310] 


RELIGION  AND  MUNICIPAL  LIFE 

It  is  full  time  to  acknowledge  to  ourselves 
that  there  is  nothing  of  more  importance  from 
the  municipal  view-point  than  the  training  of 
the  citizen  to  take  part  in  the  family.  What 
is  of  more  importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  city 
or  the  country  than  family  life?  And  yet  we  are 
sending  boys  and  girls  forth  into  the  world  to 
establish  families,  while  totally  ignorant  of  some 
of  the  simplest  concerns  of  the  relation  of  the 
sexes.  We  have  treated  this  matter  in  another 
chapter.  We  touch  upon  it  here  to  show  that 
the  dynamic  of  the  love  of  humanity  will  compel 
us  to  change  our  methods  of  education  for  the 
benefit  of  future  generations.  Love  for  man  to 
become  a  potent  municipal  factor  must  be 
prophetic.  We  must  love  the  future  citizen  to 
such  an  extent  that  we  shall  throw  all  the  forces 
of  education  and  morality  around  him,  so  that 
he  will  not  become  a  curse  to  himself  and  so- 
ciety. 

A  religious  dynamic  of  this  sort  would  conse- 
crate all  scientific  effort  for  municipal  better- 
ment, cure  all  our  corruption  and  convert  all 
ameliorative  forces  into  preventative  means.  It 
would  be  seen  that  it  is  wrong  to  deny  the 
citizen  the  fresh  air  and  sunshine  that  he  needs, 
wrong  to  deprive  him  of  pure  water  and  milk, 
wrong  to  contaminate  the  air  he  breathes  with 
the  smoke  of  a  thousand  factories,  wrong  to 
deprive  him  of  the  means  of  healthy  play  in  all 

[311] 


MODERN    CITIES 

stages  of  his  life,  wrong  to  place  his  life 
among  anesthetic  surroundings  which  breed  pes- 
simism and  immorality,  wrong  to  compel 
him  to  secure  the  only  relief  from  daily  mo- 
notony in  the  brightness  and  genial  surround- 
ings of  the  saloon  and  brothel,  wrong  to 
allow  human  sharks  to  prey  upon  his  igno- 
rance and  love  of  gambling  and  deprive  him  of 
a  large  part  of  his  wage  so  much  needed  for 
his  family,  wrong  to  compel  him  to  pay  an 
exorbitant  price  for  transportation,  gas  and 
electricity,  wrong  to  sell  tainted  fruit  and 
meat,  wrong  to  subject  beautiful  young  girls 
to  the  mercy  of  procuresses  and  the  white  slave 
trafficker,  wrong  to  use  the  city  for  political 
purposes  rather  than  to  concentrate  all  the  ener- 
gies of  managers  upon  the  good  of  the  commu- 
nity, wrong  to  give  away  the  use  of  the  streets 
in  unlimited  franchises  for  the  benefit  of  cor- 
porations which  are  not  rendering  an  equivalent 
to  the  community.  In  other  words,  when  the 
full  import  of  what  religion  really  means,  when 
it  inculcates  love  for  humanity,  we  shall  see  an 
era  of  municipal  administration  in  accordance 
with  the  enlightened  scientific  knowledge  of  the 
time,  honest  and  capable,  in  which  each  official 
and  each  citizen  shall  live  for  the  good  of  all 
the  citizens  all  the  time. 


[312] 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE  SOCIAL  EVIL 

SCHOPENHAUER,  in  his  great  work,  "The 
World  as  Will  and  Idea,"  *  gives  an  expert 
discussion  of  the  metaphysics  of  the  love  of  the 
sexes.  His  contention  is  that  all  love,  however 
exalted  it  may  appear  in  poetry,  romance, 
drama  and  even  in  the  estimation  of  the  indi- 
vidual, is  nevertheless  "rooted  in  the  sexual  im- 
pulse alone."  Or  to  state  Schopenhauer's  posi- 
tion from  a  profounder  viewpoint,  sexual  im- 
pulses are  grounded  in  the  constitution  of  the 
universe.  The  fundamental  principle  at  the 
basis  of  all  things  is  an  irrational  will-power. 
This  expresses  or  individualizes  itself  in  man  and 
woman.  But  previous  to  and  independent  of  its 
expression  in  any  individual,  there  is  a  will  to 
live.  The  human  species  must  be  continued  in- 
definitely. The  future  man  is  always  assured. 
His  forthcoming  is  eternally  dictated  by  the 
deep-lying  will  of  the  universe.  The  will  of  the 
world  proposes,  willy-nilly,  to  live  through  in- 

1  The  World  as  Will  and   Idea.     By  Arthur  Schopen- 
hauer    Vol.  Ill,  pp.  336-375. 

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MODERN    CITIES 

dividual  men  and  women;  they  are  and  must  be 
its  expression. 

This  accounts  for  the  great  tragedies  of  love, 
for  the  irrationality  it  causes,  making  fools 
of  even  the  wisest,  and  the  irresistible  potency 
of  its  sway.  The  individual,  however,  thinks  all 
is  under  his  control.  Does  he  not  choose  the 
object  of  his  love?  Has  he  not  fallen  in  love 
because  the  loved  one  pleased  him;  because  her 
charming  beauty,  her  culture  and  refinement, 
captivated  his  soul?  Did  he  not  yield  himself 
a  willing  slave  to  her  charms?  All  very  true, 
thinks  Schopenhauer.  But  all  this  is  pure  il- 
lusion. The  individual  in  the  case  is  a  mere 
puppet.  The  will  of  the  universe  pulls  the  strings 
and  he  obeys;  he  could  not  do  otherwise.  He  is 
carrying  out  the  behest  of  a  power  over  which 
he  has  no  control.  Superficially,  he  is  in  love 
because  of  his  individual  choice;  fundamentally, 
he  is  in  love  because  his  preference  individual- 
izes the  preference  of  the  will  of  the  universe. 
This  is  exactly  the  thought  which  Defoe  voices 
through  Robinson  Crusoe.  During  reflections, 
Crusoe  would  realize  how  foolish  his  behavior 
was  in  constantly  running  to  sea  and  subjecting 
himself  to  endless  privation  and  misery,  when 
he  might  be  living  in  ease  and  comfort  if  he 
had  only  abandoned  his  roaming  instincts. 
After  all  Crusoe  thought  it  useless  to  rebel ;  for, 
while  we  control  the  surface  ripples  of  life,  the 

[314] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

deep  undercurrents  are  not  amenable  to  our 
wills.  So  it  is  with  the  lover,  thinks  Schopen- 
hauer. His  love  is  the  mask;  back  of  the  mask 
is  the  desire  of  the  eternal  will  to  live  in  hu- 
manity. When  he  thinks  he  is  serving  himself, 
he  is  serving  the  species.  When  he  sighs,  it  is 
the  spirit  of  the  species  sighing  through  him. 
To  this  express  end  is  the  lover  used,  and  when 
he  enters  the  sexual  relation  he  is  serving  the 
universe  in  the  best  possible  way.  This  is  why 
love  so  often  violates  human  conventions.  The 
Great  Will  pays  no  respect  to  our  little  con- 
ventionalities. It  wills  life  absolutely  and  for 
all  times,  and  when  it  exhibits  itself  in  sexual 
relations  it  has  endless  generations  in  view. 

We  shall  here  deal  strictly  with  prostitution, 
a  word  which  is  best  defined  as  "promiscuous 
unchastity  for  gain."  In  common  with  all  sex- 
ual intercourse,  the  primary  cause  of  prostitu- 
tion lies  in  the  deep-seated  instinct  of  reproduc- 
tion. Schopenhauer,  from  the  metaphysical 
side,  places  this  instinct  in  the  constitution  of 
nature  itself.  It  is  the  will  to  live,  a  determina- 
tion to  prolong  the  species.  Thus  it  is  universal, 
existing  independent  of  the  individual,  not 
guided  at  all  by  reason,  simply  blind  and  ir- 
rational will.  But  this  deep-seated  instinct  uses 
the  individual  for  its  ends.  It  manifests  itself 
in  him  as  an  impulse  for  reproduction.  It  will 
be  seen  then  that  the  interests  of  the  species  are 

[315] 


MODERN    CITIES 

supreme  in  the  sexual  instincts.  And  the  pri- 
mary cause  of  prostitution  is  that  the  individual 
insists  upon  satisfying  the  impulse  for  reproduc- 
tion, irrespective  of  the  true  interests  of  the 
species.  It  is  essentially  a  form  of  supreme 
selfishness,  for  it  endangers  the  public  health 
and  morals. 

But,  from  the  view-point  of  impelling  instinct, 
as  distinguished  from  results,  the  prevalence  of 
prostitution  in  spite  of  all  attempts  to  check  it, 
especially  under  Christian  civilization,  shows  the 
imperiousness  of  the  instinct  and  a  total  dis- 
regard of  selfish  ends  in  the  individual,  for  he 
is  prepared  to  suffer  the  worst  forms  of  disease 
in  order  to  satisfy  the  sexual  demand.  No  care- 
ful student  of  the  subject  can  for  a  moment 
close  his  eyes  to  such  widespread  facts,  even 
though  he  may  reject  the  metaphysics  of  Scho- 
penhauer, yet  in  the  purest  state  of  civilization 
at  least  there  is  a  great  deal  that  is  irrational 
in  connection  with  the  exercise  of  the  sexual  im- 
pulses. It  would  check  all  our  attempts  at  mu- 
nicipal reform,  however,  if  we  were  persuaded 
that,  for  civilized  man,  all  love  consisted  merely 
in  sexual  satisfaction. 

Such  a  view  reduces  to  pure  animalism,  an 
instrumentality  which,  having  its  deep  basis 
here  in  the  social  progress  of  the  race  and  its 
advancement  in  the  ideals  of  the  spiritual  life, 

[316] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

is  one  of  the  noblest  refining  and  civilizing 
forces  of  humanity.  Evolution  traces  very  suc- 
cessfully the  basis  of  man's  life  to  animalism, 
but  the  progress  of  the  race  is  toward  an  ideal- 
ism in  art,  literature,  religion,  science  and  phi- 
losophy, which  places  him  on  a  plane,  in  which 
he  has  outstripped  his  animalism  and  of  which 
animalism  alone  cannot  give  an  exhaustive  ac- 
count. In  other  words,  the  mere  reproduction 
of  the  species  is  not  the  sole  intent  of  the  sexual 
instinct  and  relation.  The  spirit  of  the  species 
is  undoubtedly  sighing  through  them,  but  there 
are  also  the  spirit  of  the  family,  municipality 
and  nation,  the  spirit  of  all  the  fine  human  emo- 
tions, sentiments  and  passions,  the  spirit  which 
produces  intellectual  capacities,  moral  and 
spiritual  longings,  hopes  and  aspirations. 

Prostitution  arises  primarily  from  satisfac- 
tion of  the  individual  instinct  of  reproduction 
at  the  cost  of  the  species.  The  imperfection 
of  the  evolutionary  process  is  an  important  fact. 
In  the  march  from  the  beast  to  the  angel  there 
is  a  very  long  stretch.  It  takes  many  genera- 
tions to  eliminate  the  tiger.  The  continuance 
of  the  barbarism  of  war  to  settle  international 
disputes  is  a  case  in  point.  One  of  the  main 
causes  of  prostitution  arises  from  the  fact  that 
men,  who,  as  a  rule,  are  more  promiscuous  than 
women,  obey  the  elements  of  animalism,  which 

[317] 


MODERN    CITIES 

are  not  yet  in  subjection  to  the  higher  nature. 

Lack  of  ethical  training  and  of  proper 
grounding  in  ethical  estimates  of  life  is,  we  are 
confident,  main  causes  of  the  deplorable  and 
widespread  social  evil.  We  refer  more  par- 
ticularly to  such  training  with  reference  to  the 
relation  of  the  sexes.  It  has  been  the  habit 
in  Christian  homes  to  say  nothing  of  these  mat- 
ters. The  awakening  of  the  sexual  impulse 
at  puberty  creates  a  curiosity  which  seeks  to 
satisfy  itself  in  a  thousand  ways.  Children  grow 
to  young  men  and  women,  and  go  wrong  fre- 
quently because  of  ignorance  of  the  consequence 
of  their  acts.  They  are  left  in  the  dark  about 
procreation  and  venereal  diseases. 

There  are  economic  causes  for  prostitution 
which  are  pretty  deeply  seated  in  our  present 
system.  We  must  take  note  of  the  inability 
of  a  large  number  of  men  to  enter  the  marital 
relation,  because  they  are  not  earning  enough 
to  maintain  a  family.  These  men,  to  satisfy 
their  sexual  appetites,  become  frequenters  of 
houses  of  prostitution. 

But  by  far  the  greatest  danger  from  economic 
causes,  comes  from  the  inadequacy  of  the  wages 
paid  to  young  women,  who  sustain  themselves 
by  working  as  clerks,  stenographers  and  in 
other  occupations  open  to  women.  These  girls 
are  led  to  sell  their  virtue  at  first  to  eke  out 
a  living  and  finally  abandon  themselves  to 

[318] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

prostitution.1  We  do  not  refer  to  the  peculiar 
accidental  temptation  to  which  a  young  woman 
is  subjected,  such  as  danger  to  her  virtue  from 
employers,  associates  and  others,  but  to  the  all 
too  patent  fact  that  she  is  not  earning  enough 
money  to  support  herself  in  a  decent  way,  to 
say  nothing  of  supplying  herself  with  the  pretty 
things  which  are  so  attractive  to  young  girls. 

Bad  housing  conditions  contribute  very 
largely  to  prostitution.  The  huddling  of  fam- 
ilies together  in  unsanitary  localities,  surrounded 
by  innumerable  temptations,  living  in  rooms 
without  sufficient  space,  light  and  air,  compelled 
to  use  in  common  the  conveniences  of  bath-tubs 
and  water-closets,  and  under  such  general  con- 
ditions as  to  render  privacy  impossible,  make 
easy  the  pathway  to  sexual  irregularity  and 
prostitution.  Where  the  privacies  and  delicacies 
of  life  are  made  impossible  by  the  very  nature 
of  the  conditions  of  life,  what  can  be  expected 
but  a  downward  movement  on  the  part  of  chil- 
dren brought  up  in  such  surroundings?  Vice 
under  such  conditions  becomes  a  logical  and 
almost  a  necessary  consequence. 

Many  of  our  social  arrangements  become 
contributory  to  prostitution  1  Soldiers  and 

1  On  this  subject,  as  well  as  for  a  careful  study  of  the 
social  evil  in  Chicago,  see  the  illuminating  report  of  the 
Vice  Commission  on  the  social  evil  in  that  city,  published 
in  1911. 

[319] 


MODERN    CITIES 

sailors  are  notorious  frequenters  of  houses  of 
prostitution.  Enforced  celibacy  of  any  sort 
contributes  to  this  end. 

There  are  abnormal  conditions,  of  course,  too 
numerous  for  classification,  which  become  con- 
tributory to  the  vice.  Abnormal  sexual  de- 
velopment occurs  in  both  man  and  woman.  The 
seduction  and  violation  of  young  girls  by  rela- 
tives, guardians,  married  men,  etc.,  often  start 
them  on  careers  of  vice.  All  such  cases  of 
physical  and  moral  degeneracy  come  under  the 
category  of  criminal  affairs. 

The  appearance  anywhere  of  prostitution  as 
a  commercialized  business  tends  to  perpetuate 
the  evil.  The  prostitute  pushes  her  nefarious 
trade  because  she  can  make  a  living  easier  and 
better  in  this  than  in  any  other  way.  The 
keeper  of  a  brothel  finds  it  a  lucrative  business. 
The  cadet,  panderer,  and  white  slave  dealer  all 
find  this  business  fascinating  from  the  purely 
business  view-point.  It  yields  a  net  revenue  in 
the  city  of  Chicago  alone  of  about  fifteen  mil- 
lion dollars  a  year.  This  will  give  a  suggestion 
of  the  extent  of  the  business  done  throughout 
the  United  States,  to  say  nothing  of  Europe 
and  other  parts  of  the  world.  All  the  agencies 
of  such  business  are  interested  in  the  stimulation 
of  trade.  What  do  these  human  vipers  care 
for  the  souls  and  bodies  of  beautiful  young 
women,  whom  they  entice  into  the  lairs  of  vice 

[320] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

and  keep  enslaved  there  through  moral,  eco- 
nomic and  physical  causes?  It  is  merely  busi- 
ness with  them.  The  more  fascinating  the 
young  girl,  the  better  drawing  card  she  is  for 
trade.  In  other  words,  the  prosperity  of  this 
type  of  business  is  in  direct  ratio  to  the  degrada- 
tion of  the  victims. 

The  country  is  scoured  for  new  victims. 
These  paid  agents  comb  very  carefully  parks, 
department  stores  and  railroad  trains  all  over 
the  country  for  fresh  supplies  of  young  life  to 
be  sacrificed  to  lust. 

The  presence  in  any  city  of  prostitutes  under 
a  commercialized  system  is  a  menace  to  the 
well-being  of  the  community,  for  it  is  to  the 
interest  of  all  concerned  that  trade  shall  be 
stimulated.  The  drink  traffic  in  saloons  becomes 
an  important  contributory  element  to  prostitu- 
tion. As  showing  their  natural  alliance,  they 
are  frequently  conducted  together.  The  saloon 
habit  leads  to  the  bawdy  house.  Indeed,  dance- 
hall  annexes  to  saloons  are  very  important  con- 
tributors to  the  evil.  And  even  public  dance- 
halls  not  directly  connected  with  saloons  where 
drinks  are  sold,  contribute  to  the  trade  by  giving 
an  opportunity  for  the  prostitute  and  cadet  to 
obtain  new  victims.  Frequently  the  rear  rooms 
of  saloons  are  used  by  immoral  women  in  solicit- 
ing men  to  buy  drinks  for  them,  the  inflated 
prices  charged  for  drinks  yielding  an  enormous 

[321] 


MODERN    CITIES 

profit  to  the  saloon-keeper.  It  is  his  profit  that 
induces  the  saloon-keeper  to  encourage  prostitu- 
tion. Often  there  is  a  vaudeville  performance 
where  women  exhibit  parts  of  their  bodies  and 
where  perverts  and  prostitutes  use  obscene  and 
suggestive  language.  The  heavy  profit  stimu- 
lates prostitution,  first  by  attaching  it  to  the 
saloon,  and  secondly,  by  enabling  the  saloon- 
keeper to  pay  for  protection  from  the  police, 
and  if  one  of  the  women  is  arrested  to  enable  him 
to  bail  her  out  and  even  pay  the  fine. 

Extremes  in  the  life-occupations  of  women 
become  contributing  causes.  Young  women 
kept  in  idleness  are  naturally  led  into  this  life 
by  the  desire  for  excitement,  entertainment  and 
fuller  life  experience,  even  in  those  in  whom 
the  sexual  impulse  is  normal.  Those  who  are 
subjected  to  a  life  of  hopeless  drudgery  wish 
to  escape  it  by  embracing  a  life  of  ease.  The 
larger  number  of  prostitutes  are  drawn  from 
the  lower  classes,  where  this  cause  prevails. 
And  of  course  it  must  be  added  that  in  these 
young  women  the  inner  life  is  at  a  low  ebb. 
They  cannot  draw  on  the  resources  of  the  inner 
life  for  their  entertainment;  books  are  mean- 
ingless to  them.  Prostitution  offers  them  plenty 
of  money,  freedom  from  drudgery,  endless  risks 
and  excitements,  a  variety  of  life,  dull  and 
monotonous  as  it  may  seem  to  a  more  developed 
ethical  and  intellectual  nature,  yet,  in  contrast 

[322] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

with  the  ordinary  life  from  which  the  prostitute 
for  the  most  part  escapes,  rich  and  satisfying. 

The  relation  of  the  social  evil  to  the  police 
force  is  an  important  feature  of  the  problem. 
The  laws  on  the  statute  books  are  far  ahead 
of  public  opinion  from  the  ethical  view-point 
and  impracticable  in  their  application  to  actual 
conditions.  Prostitution,  so  far  as  the  law  is 
concerned,  in  all  civilized  countries,  is  merely 
tolerated.  Under  all  conditions  it  is  a  violation 
of  the  law.  These  laws  come  into  existence 
in  very  interesting  ways.  In  the  United  States 
large  numbers  of  legislators  have  never  had 
experience  with  the  larger  cities,  where  prostitu- 
tion mostly  prevails.  Even  those  who  know 
these  cities  bend  to  the  pressure  of  the  ethical 
and  religious  forces  of  the  state,  which  indeed 
is  splendid  in  its  impulses,  but  miserably  im- 
potent in  its  insight  into  human  nature  and 
its  intelligence  with  respect  to  the  wisest  ad- 
ministrative measures  respecting  vice. 

Yielding  to  the  demand  of  no  compromise 
at  all,  they  proceed  to  enact  laws  demanding 
perfect  obedience  in  a  sphere  where  never  as 
yet  has  been  even  a  pretension  of  observance, 
so  far  as  the  evil  itself  is  concerned.  Laws 
dealing  with  vice  are  a  mockery  in  our  Chris- 
tian civilization.  They  are  the  embodiment 
of  hypocrisy.  They  make  good  reading;  they 
satisfy  the  pious  and  prudish  and  are  the  glory 

[323] 


MODERN    CITIES 

of  ethical  life,  so  far  as  putting  things  on  paper 
is  concerned,  but  they  are  not,  and  never  were 
or  can  be,  obeyed  under  the  present  de- 
mands of  public  opinion.  Instead  of  attempting 
rational  measures,  attempting  what  in  the  na- 
ture of  the  case  can  be  done,  as  for  example, 
divorcing  completely  the  liquor  traffic  from  the 
business  of  prostitution,  our  laws  demand  what 
is  impossible — complete  non-existence  of  prosti- 
tution— and  nothing  whatever  is  accomplished. 
Public  opinion  does  not  demand  the  suppression 
of  vice. 

It  is  this  situation  that  complicates  the  sub- 
ject, so  far  as  the  police  force  is  concerned. 
With  people  indifferent  to  the  evil  so  long  as  it 
does  not  touch  them,  with  a  consciousness  of 
weakness  in  most  people  that  makes  them 
charitable  toward  others,  with  a  feeling  that  we 
have  always  had  it  with  us  and  always  shall 
have  it  on  the  one  hand  and  impracticable  laws 
demanding  perfection  on  the  other,  what  can 
a  chief  of  police  do?  The  testimony  of  Will- 
iam McAdoo,  who  has  had  much  practical  ex- 
perience as  a  chief  of  police,  is  worth  consider- 
ing. McAdoo  is  of  opinion  that  segregation  is 
necessary,  in  order  to  enable  the  police  to  per- 
form their  duty.  He  says: 

"Religious  people  especially  have  always  op- 
posed the  licensing  or  segregation  of  vice 

There  is  apparently  no  use  to  argue  from  any 

[324] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

given  facts,  so  far  as  this  element  is  concerned. 
The  thing  is  wrong  from  their  point  of  view, 
and  there  can  be  no  compromise  with  it.  That 
it  exists,  has  existed,  and  will  exist,  is  ap- 
parently a  fact  not  to  be  recognized  by  them. 
It  is  foreign,  however,  to  my  purpose  to  argue 
on  the  practicability  or  ethics  of  license  or  pro- 
hibition with  regard  to  either  vice  or  the  sale 
of  liquors.  This  can  be  said:  That  where  there 
is  neither  license  nor  segregation  by  common 
consent,  nor  permission  to  sell  within  certain 
hours  and  on  prohibited  days,  there  is  very  apt 
to  be  collusion  between  the  police  and  those  who 
break  the  law." 

He  quotes  the  example  of  Washington,  D. 
C.,  where  the  social  evil  is  confined  to  a  cer- 
tain quarter  of  the  city  by  custom.  This  place 
is  known  by  every  one  and  avoided  by  all  who 
wish  to  live  a  life  above  suspicion.  There  is 
no  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  police  to  black- 
mail women.  Street- walking  is  unknown.  This 
is  the  only  solution,  therefore,  that  McAdoo 
offers  to  this  grave  problem:  We  must  always 
have  it;  therefore,  let  us  confine  it  to  a  certain 
quarter  of  the  city. 

Mr.  McAdoo  would  accentuate  the  point  we 
are  trying  to  make,  viz.:  that  the  imperfection 
and  impracticability  of  our  laws,  making  every- 
thing pertaining  to  prostitution  illegal,  and  the 
present  state  of  public  opinion,  force  a  col- 

[325  ] 


MODERN    CITIES 

lusion  between  the  forces  of  vice  and  the  police. 
It  throws  the  burden  of  practicable  legislation 
on  the  chief  of  police,  who  endeavors  to  frame 
a  few  regulations  that  his  officers  will  be  able 
to  enforce,  there  being  nothing  in  the  law  of 
the  municipalities  that  can  be  enforced.  But 
the  use  of  discretionary  power  on  the  part  of 
the  chief  of  police  percolates  down  through  the 
captains  and  officers.  They  also  learn  how  to 
use  their  discretion.  Keepers  of  houses  of  pros- 
titution also  know  this.  They  do  not  open  busi- 
ness on  a  considerable  scale  anywhere,  without 
coming  to  terms  of  protection  with  the  officers. 
Something  surely  should  be  learned  from  his- 
tory. Prostitution  is  a  very  ancient  institution. 
It  appears  among  all  nations.  At  different 
times  it  has  been  an  institution  of  the  state, 
municipality,  religion  and  university.  Almost 
every  civilized  nation  has  tried  the  method  of  in- 
difference until  the  danger  of  profligacy  threat- 
ened the  very  foundations  of  the  state.  Then 
the  most  stringent  methods  were  adopted.  Both 
have  had  very  little  success.  In  Puritan  Eng- 
land "Bawds  were  condemned  to  be  whipped, 
pilloried,  branded  and  imprisoned  for  three 
years,"  but  modern  England  suffers  as  much 
from  the  vice  as  any  civilized  country.  No 
scheme  yet  devised  seems  able  to  extirpate  this 
evil.  Even  with  our  actual  knowledge  of  the 
nature  of  syphilis,  gonorrhea  and  soft  chancre, 

[326] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

their  dire  effects  on  the  system,  and  the  con- 
tamination of  innocent  wives  and  children  of 
profligate  men,  there  seems  to  be  no  abatement 
in  the  business  of  prostitution.  All  the  great 
cities  of  Christendom  are  as  much  under  the 
spell  of  this  institution  as  any  cities  have  ever 
been  in  the  history  of  the  world.  It  persists 
in  spite  of  and  baffling  all  legislation,  all  the 
stringency  of  police  regulation,  and  all  the  dan- 
gers of  fearful  and  loathsome  venereal  diseases. 
An  authority  like  Dr.  Arthur  Shadwell  comes 
to  the  following  conclusion: 

"A  general  view  of  the  whole  subject  sug- 
gests no  pleasant  or  hopeful  conclusions.  Pros- 
titution appears  to  be  inseparable  from  human 
society  in  large  communities.  In  different  coun- 
tries and  ages  it  has  in  turn  been  patronized 
and  prohibited,  ignored  and  recognized,  tol- 
erated and  condemned,  regulated  and  let  alone, 
flaunted  and  concealed.  Christianity,  the  great- 
est moral  force  in  the  history  of  mankind,  has 
repeatedly  and  systematically  attacked  it  with 
a  scourge  in  one  hand  and  balm  in  the  other, 
but  the  effect  has  been  trifling  or  transient. 
Nor  have  all  the  social  and  administrative  re- 
sources of  modern  civilization  availed  to  ex- 
ercise an  effective  control.  The  elementary 
laws  on  which  prostitution  rests  are  stronger 
than  the  artificial  codes  imposed  by  moral  teach- 
ing, conventional  standards  or  legislatures,  and 

[327] 


MODERN    CITIES 

attempts  at  repression  lead  only  to  a  change  of 
form,  not  of  substances.  It  survives  all  treat- 
ment, and  though  it  may  coexist  with  national 
vigor,  its  extravagant  development  is  one  of  the 
signs  of  a  rotten  and  decaying  civilization."  1 

Another  authority  contends  that  "sexual  in- 
tercourse is  an  imperious  necessity,  implanted 
in  our  nature,  for  the  gratification  of  which 
man  will  brave  any  danger  however  great  to 
health  and  even  life.  Whether  descended  from 
the  ape  or  created  in  the  image  of  his  Maker, 
he  is  still  an  animal,  who,  but  for  the  human- 
izing influence  of  civilization  and  Christianity, 
would  be  more  savage  and  degraded  than  the 
wildest  beast  of  the  forest.  If  this  postulate 
be  admitted,  it  requires  no  argument  to  prove 
that  prostitution  is  an  essential  necessity  of 
society."  2 

Lecky,  the  historian,  delivers  an  apostrophe 
to  the  harlot:  "Herself  the  supreme  type  of 
vice,  she  is  ultimately  the  most  efficient  guardian 
of  virtue.  But  for  her,  the  unchallenged  purity 
of  countless  homes  would  be  polluted,  and  not 
a  few  who,  in  the  pride  of  their  untempted 
chastity,  think  of  her  with  an  indignant  shudder, 
would  have  known  the  agony  of  remorse  and 
of  despair.  On  that  one  degraded  and  noble 
form  are  concentrated  the  passions  that  might 


Brit.,  llth  Ed.,  Vol.  XXII,  p.  463. 
2  Professor  Gross  in  an  address  in  Philadelphia  in  1874. 

[328] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

have  filled  the  world  with  shame.  She  remains 
while  creeds  and  civilizations  rise  and  fall,  the 
eternal  priestess  of  humanity,  blasted  for  the 
sins  of  the  people."  l 

Over  against  these  attitudes  is  that  of  Worlo- 
mont:  "If  all  nations  were  more  fully  pene- 
trated with  a  sense  of  the  duties  which  the  pro- 
tection of  health  and  public  morality  imposes, 
and  would  agree  by  common  consent  to  make 
mutual  concessions  for  the  purpose  of  institut- 
ing measures  of  general  security,  we  should 
slowly  see  this  plague,  disastrous  as  it  is  for 
the  whole  human  race,  disappear  from  the  list 
of  human  calamities."  2 

Dr.  Mauriac,  in  his  pamphlet,  "Rarete 
actuelle  du  Chancre  simple,"  says:  "Soft 
chancre  is  a  disgrace  to  our  civilization.  Have 
we  not  the  power  of  destroying  it  as  we  de- 
stroy vermin,  and  all  parasitic  diseases  which 
lodge  in  the  skin?  Yes,  I  am  convinced  that  it 
will  be  made  to  disappear  whenever  society 
will  seriously  take  the  trouble  to  make  it  cease." 

As  a  problem  in  the  health  of  the  munici- 
pality, it  is  just  as  much  our  duty  to  prevent 
and  get  rid  of  syphilis,  gonorrhea  and  soft 
chancre  as  it  is  to  get  rid  of  and  prevent  ty- 
phoid, tuberculosis  or  other  communicable  dis- 

1  European  Morals,  Vol.  II,  p.  299. 

2  Address   at    International   Conference   in    Brussels   in 
1875. 

[329] 


MODERN    CITIES 

eases.  The  proper  basis  for  dealing  with  the 
problem  legally  is  from  the  view-point  of 
the  public  health  of  municipalities.  When 
England  passed  an  act  in  1864  for  the  preven- 
tion of  contagious  diseases,  it  was  a  move 
in  the  right  direction.  We  are  not  now  dis- 
cussing the  merits  or  efficacy  of  this  act,  but  are 
simply  indicating  the  methods  of  approach. 
Prostitution  has  been  treated  too  much  as  a 
matter  for  the  police.  It  is  much  more  of  a 
problem  than  that  of  public  order.  The  extent 
of  this  can  be  faintly  realized  if  we  think  of  a 
city  like  .Chicago.  Five  thousand  prostitutes 
are  reported  for  this  city.  In  an  examination 
of  the  books  of  a  certain  house,  it  was  shown 
that  each  woman  had  sexual  intercourse  with  an 
average  of  seventeen  men  each  day.  If  this 
were  true  for  the  5,000  prostitutes,  85,000  men 
would  come  into  contact  with  prostitutes  daily. 
Assuming  that  only  one  in  four  of  these  prosti- 
tutes suffered  from  venereal  diseases,  21,250 
men  would  be  exposed  to  them  in  a  single  day 
in  Chicago.  Reducing  this  number  to  the  lowest 
minimum,  if  even  1,000  men  or  only  a  few  hun- 
dred are  affected  daily,  it  can  be  seen  how  great 
a  damage  is  wrought  to  the  body  social  by  the 
introduction  into  it  of  the  virus  of  a  venereal 
disease.  This  is  surely  a  problem  of  municipal 
health  and  municipal  morals. 

The  inadequacy  of  present  systems  of  treat- 

[330] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

ing  prostitution  is  apparent  to  any  student  of 
municipal  life.  The  severe  puritanic  method 
proved  a  failure,  in  so  far  as  rooting  out 
the  evil  was  concerned.  Such  methods  were 
adopted  as  a  result  of  the  Protestant  Reforma- 
tion. Licensed  prostitution  was  forbidden 
pretty  much  over  the  whole  of  Europe  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
also  "great  severity  was  shown.  In  1865  an 
edict  was  issued  in  Paris  condemning  men  con- 
cerned in  the  traffic  to  the  galleys  for  life; 
women  and  girls  to  be  whipped,  shaved  and 
banished  for  life,  without  formal  trial."  Similar 
severity  was  manifested  in  England  during  the 
same  period.  These  relentless  measures  have  usu- 
ally had  the  effect  of  driving  the  evil  to  greater 
extremes  the  moment  the  pressure  was  removed. 

The  laissez  faire  method  is  just  as  ineffective. 
This  was  the  attitude  in  England  during  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  up 
to  about  1864.  Every  civilized  country,  willy- 
nilly,  has  been  compelled  to  pay  some  attention 
to  this  institution.  Left  to  itself,  allowed  to 
carry  on  its  nefarious  soul  and  body-destroying 
trade,  prostitution  would  soon  become  an  abomi- 
nation even  to  the  uncultivated,  and  the  preser- 
vation of  peace  and  order  would  become  prac- 
ticably impossible.  England  found  at  length 
that  something  had  to  be  done. 

The  laissez  faire   attitude   has   characterized 

[331] 


MODERN    CITIES 

much  of  our  treatment  of  the  subject  in  the 
United  States.  In  municipalities  there  has  been 
a  pretty  universal  custom  of  passing  most  ex- 
cellent and  stringent  laws  on  the  subject,  declar- 
ing it  illegal  and  disorderly.  It  generally  exists 
by  toleration.  It  comports  with  the  Christian 
conscience  to  pass  a  law  that  will  be  in  accord 
with  the  purest  Christian  ethics  conceivable, 
although  law-makers  know  full  well  that,  under 
present  conditions,  prostitution  prevails  every- 
where. There  seems  to  be  much  consolation 
derived  from  this  very  hypocrisy.  We  are  call- 
ing attention  to  it  again  to  show  its  utter  in- 
adequacy to  solve  the  problem.  With  absolutely 
no  provision  made  for  its  regulation,  the  chief 
of  police  is  compelled  to  frame  regulations  for 
the  guidance  of  officers.  He  is  compelled  to 
study  the  chief  resorts  of  prostitutes,  for  this 
traffic,  like  all  other  business,  has  a  tendency 
to  settle  in  that  part  of  the  city  which  is  most 
congenial  to  it.  The  wisdom  of  the  commis- 
sioner or  chief  of  police  may  dictate  a  cir- 
cumscribed area  within  which  he  desires  most 
of  the  notorious  prostitutes  to  live.  He  finds 
usually  that,  even  with  a  designated  place  for 
the  most  marked  features  of  prostitution,  it  is 
beyond  his  control;  but  without  such  a  place  he 
can  do  nothing  with  it  and  simply  allows  it  to 
infest  the  city  in  every  quarter  as  well  as  occupy 
certain  haunts.  The  difference,  so  far  as  desig- 

[332  ] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

nating  a  particular  area  of  the  city,  is  that  he 
can  confine  most  of  it,  whereas  in  a  scheme  of 
no  designation,  a  larger  proportion  of  it  will 
be  found  outside  its  favorite  haunts. 

The  failure  of  this  lazssez  faire  method  is 
shown  by  the  presence  in  all  cities  of  the  United 
States  of  this  evil.  A  change  of  administration 
makes  a  difference  of  course.  One  mayor  or 
chief  of  police  will  have  an  "open  town,"  an- 
other a  less  open  one.  But  we  have  not  man- 
aged to  banish  prostitution.  One  commissioner 
adopts  one  set  of  rules  and  his  successor  an- 
other. Meanwhile  the  business  flourishes  and 
White  Slavery  is  becoming  tremendously  profit- 
able and  well  organized. 

The  French  system  of  licensing  and  register- 
ing with  strict  regulation  has  been  extensively 
tried  in  continental  Europe.  In  the  abstract,  it 
would  seem  that  a  system  of  this  sort  would  by 
all  odds  be  the  most  successful.  It  commends 
itself  most  readily  to  those  who  have  given  little 
attention  to  the  subject.  Very  frequently  we 
have  heard  people  say,  "The  only  successful 
way  to  handle  this  institution  is  the  way  they 
do  it  in  Europe."  On  the  face  of  it,  what  could 
be  better  than  to  compel  all  prostitutes  to  be 
registered,  so  that  the  police  might  know  exactly 
who  the  prostitutes  are  and  how  to  find  them. 
With  the  house  itself  and  the  inmates  regis- 
tered, police  surveillance  could  surely  be  carried 

[333] 


MODERN    CITIES 

to  the  point  of  perfection.  And  where  a  house 
is  not  registered,  the  files  isolees  would  be. 
Could  any  better  scheme  be  devised?  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  there  would  be  frequent  examina- 
tions of  women.  What  a  protection  to  society! 
In  spite  of  prostitution  therefore  we  could  suc- 
cessfully protect  society  from  the  virus  of 
syphilis,  gonorrhea  and  soft  chancre! 

Now  what  are  the  facts  relating  to  these 
Maisons  de  Tolerance?  Has  the  system  of 
registration  produced  a  respectable  and  law- 
abiding  institution?  Alphonse  Esquiros,  in 
"Les  Vierges  Folles,"  says,  "Si  vous  voulez 
savoir  ce  qu'est  maison  si  doucement  nominee, 
je  vous  dirai  que  c'est  un  endroit  infect,  qui  a 
1'odeur  du  vice,  un  repaire  tenebreux,  profond, 
irreparable — une  fois  la  femme  est  entree,  la 
il  lui  faut  dire  adieu  au  ciel,  a  la  liberte,  a 
1'honneur,  et  au  monde"  ("If  you  would  know 
what  this  house  so  sweetly  named  [Maison  de 
tolerance~\  is,  I  should  say  to  you  that  it  is  a 
place  of  infection,  which  has  the  odor  of  vice, 
a  gloomy,  low,  irreparable  den — once  a  woman 
enters  it  she  must  say  goodby  to  heaven,  lib- 
erty, honor  and  the  world"). 

As  to  the  dames  who  conduct  such  places, 
Acton  states:  "The  dames  de  Maison  are,  of 
course,  a  vicious  and,  as  a  general  rule,  ferocious, 
mercenary  band,  tyrannizing  over  the  unfortu- 
nate harlots  who  form  their  stock  in  trade,  and 

[334] 


THE    SOCIAL    EVIL 

abjectly  crouching  before  the  inspector,  the 
surgeon  and  the  mouchard.  The  possession  of 
a  house  of  this  kind  is  the  highest  aspiration 
of  the  prostitute."  A  house  of  this  sort  legal- 
ized by  the  municipality  acquires  a  stable  mar- 
ketable value.  Thousands  of  dollars  are  fre- 
quently paid  for  one,  and  the  dame  conducting 
it  can  afford  to  retire  in  a  comparatively  short 
time. 

The  harlot,  of  course,  becomes  the  tool  of 
the  mercenary  impulses  of  the  dame,  as  well  as 
the  slave  of  the  public.  So  long  as  she  is  sought 
after,  the  mistress  is  very  kind  and  obsequious. 
She  is  treated  to  theaters  and  concerts.  But 
the  moment  she  becomes  unpopular  and  loses 
her  charm,  she  is  brutally  turned  out  of  doors 
and  frequently  with  but  little  to  cover  her 
nakedness. 

In  connection  with  this  trade  under  the 
French  system,  not  only  does  the  business  be- 
come a  financial  asset,  but  it  becomes  a  legiti- 
mate and  honorable  trade.  In  the  work  of  Dr. 
Parent  Duchatelet  there  is  a  chapter  on  "Des 
Dames  ou  Maitress  de  Maison"  in  which  the 
following  letters  appear.  They  are  copies  of 
letters  of  application  for  licenses  to  open  houses 
of  ill-fame. 

"M.  le  Prefet: 

"I  have  only  you  as  a  resource  to  lean  upon;  burdened 
with  a  family  of  tender  years,  I  implore  you  not  to  refuse 

[335] 


MODERN    CITIES 

me  an  honest  means  of  livelihood  and  of  bringing  up  my 
children.  Deprive  me  not,  M.  le  Prefet,  of  a  consolation 
of  which  an  afflicted  mother  stands  in  so  great  need." 

"M.  le  Prefet: 

"Madlle.  D.  has  the  honor  to  explain  to  you  the  cruel 
reverses  of  fortune  that  would  have  driven  her  to  the  final 
act  of  despair,  if  she  had  not  been  restrained  by  a  senti- 
ment of  religion  from  parting  with  that  which  comes  from 
above.  Her  grave  and  circumspect  conduct,  the  care  she 
has  taken  of  her  father  and  mother  and  that  she  lavishes 
on  her  children,  have  won  for  her  the  esteem  and  consid- 
eration of  all  the  better  class  of  people;  being  unable  to 
bring  herself  to  work,  she  desires  to  be  authorized  to  re- 
ceive at  her  house  six  women,  etc." 

Under  the  strictest  methods  of  registration 
and  examination  it  is  impossible  to  get  all  pros- 
titutes to  register.  And  even  if  they  were  all 
registered,  prevention  of  venereal  diseases 
through  such  a  system  would  be  impossible. 
Statistics  on  the  subject  will  amply  confirm 
this.  In  1873,  in  Paris,  at  a  time  the  law 
was  very  strictly  enforced,  there  were  12,392 
registered  prostitutes  and  3,719  who  were  not 
registered.  The  investigation  of  Alfred  Four- 
nier  showed  that  out  of  367  cases  of  syphilis 
234  came  from  registered  women  and  133  from 
those  who  were  not  registered.  M.  Puche's 
investigation  about  the  same  time  gave  the  fol- 
lowing result:  Of  510  cases  of  syphilis  374 
came  from  registered  and  136  from  unregistered 
women.  Registration  is  no  guarantee  against 
disease. 

[336] 


THE    SOCIAL   EVIL 

But  suppose   the  examination   succeeded  in 
keeping  the  prostitutes  free  from  syphilis,  gon- 
orrhea and  soft  chancre,  which  in  the  light  of 
our   present    knowledge    is    practically   impos- 
sible, what  would  be  the  result?    Simply  to  de- 
clare to  the  public  that  the  prostitute  is  free 
from  disease  and  can  be  visited  without  danger. 
No  municipality  should  be  an  abettor  of  such 
a  crime  against  the  state  and  humanity.     The 
sterility  which   prostitution  breeds  is   not  val- 
uable to  any  state.    A  municipality  should  not 
take  the  risk  of  declaring  woman  usable  when 
present  knowledge  indicates  the  gravest  risks  in 
tampering  with  these  awful  diseases.    A  munici- 
pal examination  thus  becomes  a  direct  attack 
upon  the  home,  endangering  the  health  of  pure 
wives  and  unborn  children.     This  is  why  the 
mayor  of  Rome  l  discontinued  the  method  of  ex- 
amination in  that  city  and  threw  the  responsibil- 
ity of  going  to  such  places  upon  the  citizen  him- 
self.   "But,"  said  this  splendid  man,  "I  wish  you 
would  tell  me  what  to  do  with  prostitution!" 

The  machinery  of  examination  is  liable  also 
to  have  a  degrading  effect  on  the  women.  Their 
frequent  visitations  to  hospitals,  where  alone 
such  examinations  can  be  thoroughly  conducted, 
has  a  tendency  to  create  an  unpleasant  moral 
odor  in  the  hospital  itself  and  its  vicinity.  The 
women  gain  a  sense  of  self-importance.  Both 

1  Ernesto  Nathan. 
[337] 


MODERN    CITIES 

in  London  and  Paris  they  call  themselves  "gov- 
ernment women,"  as  distinguished  from  the 
ordinary  unregistered  harlot. 

The  machinery  of  registration  is  sometimes 
badly  managed.  A  woman  fallen  but  once  is 
frequently  compelled  to  become  registered  and 
thus  join  the  hopeless  class,  whereas  otherwise 
she  might  desist  from  following  such  a  career. 

No  system  yet  devised  has  been  able  to  stamp 
out  this  evil.  It  is  a  very  potent  factor  in  every 
civilized  country  to-day.  It  flourishes  as  much 
under  Christianity  as  it  did  under  paganism.  It 
is  therefore  apparent  to  any  one  who  believes 
the  evil  can  be  eradicated,  that  the  schemes 
already  tried  are  inadequate  for  this  purpose. 
Indeed,  it  is  rather  a  reflection  upon  the  kind 
of  ethics  that  the  Christian  religion  has  fos- 
tered, that,  with  all  our  boasted  purity  of  life,  it 
has  left  no  impression  on  the  institution  of  pros- 
titution. Some  authorities  contend  that  vice 
is  increasing  in  Christian  lands.  It  at  any  rate 
is  not  decreasing.  It  is  difficult  to  establish  a 
general  statement  like  the  following:  "There  are 
credible  statistics  to  show  that  one-half  the  pop- 
ulation of  civilized  countries  have  had  or  have 
gonorrhea,  and  from  one-fifth  to  one-tenth  have 
had  syphilis."  This  gives  rise  to  the  appalling 
thought  that  every  other  person  one  meets  on  the 
street  is  gonorrheic  and  every  fifth  person  syphi- 
litic. Such  a  sweeping  generalization  has 

[338  ] 


THE    SOCIAL   EVIL 

enough  basis  in  fact  to  give  it  a  startling  plau- 
sibility. A  glance  at  the  vice  reports  of  New 
York  and  Chicago  will  at  once  convince  a  per- 
son that  millions  of  our  fellow  men  are  affected 
each  year. 

What  will  the  Christian  church  do  about  it? 
What  is  the  Christian  church  doing  about  it? 
Evidently  it  is  helpless  to  stop  it.  Prostitutes 
are  recruited  from  homes  in  our  Christian  civili- 
zation. America  has  nothing  to  learn  from 
Europe,  for  here  we  have  not  only  prostitution, 
but  all  its  ghastly  accompaniments  of  sex  per- 
version. Europe  has  nothing  to  learn  from 
America,  for  she  has  practised  all  forms  of  the 
vice,  from  the  "shrines  of  Venus"  and  the  igno- 
minies of  Pompeii,  to  the  sexual  exhibits  and 
debaucheries  of  Paris  and  London.  Christian 
civilization  has  nothing  to  learn  from  paganism, 
for  the  latter  never  had  anything  which  does 
not  have  its  analogy  in  our  civilization.  In 
the  schemings  of  the  White  Slave  traffic,  the 
stupendous  commercialization  of  prostitution,  its 
business  and  political  influence,  we  have  much 
to  teach  a  less  innocent  paganism. 

Excuses  and  extenuating  circumstances  there 
are  in  plenty,  of  course.     If  it  be  true  that 
brothels  in  the  Borough,  near  London  Bridge, 
were  originally  licensed  by  the  bishops  of  Win- 
chester,1 it  was  at  a  time  when  our  ethical  stand- 
1  Encyc.  Brit,  llth  Ed.,  Vol.  XXII,  p.  459- 
[339] 


MODERN   CITIES 

ards  were  lower  and  knowledge  of  the  germ 
theory  had  not  dawned  upon  the  world.  During 
the  Reformation  and  since,  the  Christian  church, 
so  far  as  form  and  ideal  are  concerned,  has  been 
against  prostitution.  No  longer  does  any  uni- 
versity accept  the  profits  of  prostitution,  as  once 
did  Toulouse;  no  longer  do  municipalities  con- 
duct places  of  public  prostitution,  except  it 
might  be  said  that  municipal  corruptionists  do 
so  in  the  form  of  an  open  town  for  purposes  of 
graft  and  votes.  Some  things  have  been  ac- 
complished. But  the  evil  is  here,  both  in 
Europe  and  America  in  countries  under  the  in- 
fluence of  a  dominant  Christianity.  There  has 
been  no  systematic  training  by  the  church 
in  Sunday-school  or  otherwise  in  the  hygiene 
and  morality  of  the  sexual  relation.  The  church 
has  condemned  all  unrighteousness  in  general 
terms,  but  in  dealing  with  this  particular  sub- 
ject it  has  been  sorely  negligent.  While  saying 
this,  we  are  aware  of  the  rescue  work  done  by 
many  Christian  organizations  and  individuals. 
We  would  not  minimize  it  for  the  world.  Our 
contention  is  that  the  church,  which  is  the  great- 
est ethical  force  in  our  civilization,  through 
neglect  of  proper  ethical  training  in  sexual 
relationship  and  a  taboo  treatment  of  this  most 
vital  subject  to  our  civilization  and  the  welfare 
of  humanity,  is  largely  responsible  for  the 
strength  of  the  institution  of  prostitution  among 

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THE    SOCIAL   EVIL 

us.     The    subject    cannot    be    mentioned    in 
the   pulpit   and    Sunday-school   of  respectable 
churches.    Members  of  these  churches  for  most 
part  would  not  think  of  mentioning  it  to  their 
children.      The   mission    church   in    the   slums 
might  take  up  such  matters  of  course,  and  does. 
But  denizens  of  the  houses  of  prostitution  are 
not  confined  to  the  slums.    A  large  proportion 
of  the  patrons  come  from  good  Catholic  and 
Protestant  homes.    They  have  attended  Sunday- 
schools.    They  are  members  of  Christian  homes. 
The    church    must    awaken    to    responsibility. 
Prostitution  is  among  us.    We  must  throw  off 
our  lethargy.     We  must  make  an  attempt  at 
least  to  remedy  the  evil.    We  must  attack  the 
problem   with    educational,    scientific    and    hu- 
mane methods.     Puritanism  tried  it  and  failed 
—failed  just  because  it  used  none  of  these  meth- 
ods.   We  may  not  succeed.    We  certainly  can- 
not  injure   matters    if   we   make   the   attempt 
rationally.    At  any  rate,  things  cannot  be  much 
worse  than  they  are;  and  they  are  what  they 
are,    to   a   large    extent   because    of   an    utter 
ignoring  of  the  whole  subject,  from  the  view- 
point of  systematic  effort  by  the  church. 

The  question  of  eradicating  the  social  evil 
resolves  itself  into  two  parts.  First,  what  meas- 
ures can  be  taken  looking  toward  the  gradual 
elimination  of  the  social  evil,  so  that  the  time 
may  come  when  the  evil  itself  and  all  its  phys- 

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ical  and  moral  consequences  shall  vanish  from 
human  society.  Second,  what  can  be  done  now 
to  improve  the  situation?  How  can  prostitution 
be  minimized?  How  can  some  of  its  grossest 
evils  be  lessened?  How  can  we  preserve  the 
decency  of  the  community  and  the  purity  of 
the  home,  in  so  far  as  this  is  possible  under 
present  conditions  with  prostitution  a  factor  and 
a  potent  factor  in  every  city  of  any  size  in 
Christendom?  The  two  questions  are  very 
closely  related ;  yet  we  think  they  indicate  clearly 
the  line  of  action. 

We  shall  take  up  the  second  question  first. 
Prostitution  is  an  institution  which,  having  its 
roots  in  history  as  far  back  as  we  can  go,  has 
come  as  a  heritage  like  many  other  evils  in 
our  own  time  and  seems  as  vigorous  to-day  as 
ever.  Promiscuous  unchastity  for  gain  is  what 
we  must  fasten  our  attention  upon.  We  must 
not  forget  the  economic  aspect  to  it.  It  is,  and 
always  has  been,  a  very  profitable  business.  Its 
promoters  get  rich.  They  do  not  stint  with 
money.  Every  one  connected  with  them  is  well 
paid.  This  is  and  must  be  under  present  con- 
ditions a  part  of  the  game.  They  pay  higher 
rents;  their  protection  price  to  the  police  is 
generous.  These  charges  and  similar  ones  are 
a  part  of  the  business. 

But  every  dollar  of  the  annual  fifteen  millions 
of  net  profits  from  the  business  in  Chicago  is 

[342] 


THE    SOCIAL   EVIL 

the  price  paid  for  the  virtue  of  women.  The 
unfortunate  woman  sacrifices  herself  to  accumu- 
late the  business  profits  of  white-slave  dealers 
and  the  keepers  of  these  houses.  These  human 
vipers  are  in  the  business,  it  goes  without  say- 
ing, for  gain.  But  the  harlot  herself  is  also 
where  she  is  for  gain.  Even  where  there  are 
cases,  and  no  doubt  there  are  many,  of  over- 
sexed and  depraved  women,  yet  they  would  not 
be  in  the  business  were  it  not  for  the  element 
of  gain.  Unquestionably  the  majority  are 
enticed  into  this  life  because  of  the  pecuniary 
advantages  it  offers.  The  accidents  need  not 
concern  us.  To  inquire  whether  a  woman  be- 
came a  prostitute  to  get  money  to  buy  new 
clothes,  or  to  make  a  living  easier,  is  subsidiary 
to  the  main  purpose — gain.  Or  put  the  matter 
in  a  more  conservative  way  and  let  it  be  granted 
that  a  certain  fraction  of  the  women  are  in  the 
business  on  account  of  being  oversexed,  or  be- 
cause the  gout  d'homme  is  not  subjected  to  the 
control  of  rational  processes,  still  the  larger 
proportion  enter  it  and  remain  in  it  for  gain, 
It  is  true,  of  course,  that  there  are  young 
women  who  would  rather  die  than  give  up  their 
virtue  for  any  consideration.  It  is  also  true  that 
a  large  number  of  prostitutes,  once  they  have 
entered  this  life,  have  no  desire  to  leave  it. 
Here,  of  course,  many  considerations  enter  into 
the  case.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  a 

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large  class  of  young  women,  who  would  never 
have  entered  this  life  at  all,  were  it  not  that 
the  pittance  they  earn  as  clerks  and  in  other 
spheres  of  employment  for  women  was  so 
pitifully  inadequate  to  buy  the  necessaries  of 
life.  It  is  about  time  for  us  to  take  up  this 
matter  very  seriously.  Is  it  right  to  allow  any 
one  to  employ  women,  to  whom  a  living  wage  is 
not  paid?  Poverty  unquestionably  is  one  of 
the  main  arteries  of  prostitution. 

The  economic  side  has  many  ramifications.  A 
very  large  number  of  people  benefit  financially 
from  prostitution.  The  owner  of  property  and 
the  real  estate  agent  are  partners  in  the  game 
of  vice.  The  law  here  should  be  very  stringent 
and  enforced  to  the  letter.  The  owner  or  agent 
who  rents  any  property  to  be  used  for  immoral 
purposes  should  be  very  heavily  fined. 

But  the  fundamental  economic  fact  is  that 
we  should  bend  our  energy  to  the  improvement 
of  the  wages  paid  young  women.  No  one 
should  be  allowed  to  employ  a  young  woman 
unless  he  pays  enough  to  enable  her  to  live  in 
a  decent  way. 

The  greatest  reform  in  present  conditions 
would  be  affected  by  an  absolute  separation  of 
the  liquor  traffic  from  prostitution.  To  do  this 
effectively  of  course  we  must  clean  out  slums. 
Slumless  cities  are  within  the  range  of  pos- 
sibility. Then  the  business  of  prostitution 

[344] 


THE    SOCIAL   EVIL 

should  be  confined,  as  far  as  possible,  to  a 
particular  district  and  absolutely  no  liquor  of 
any  kind  sold  in  this  section.  Just  here,  of 
course,  the  saloon,  with  back  or  upstair  rooms 
for  prostitution,  is  the  most  difficult  factor. 
But  the  most  important  thing  to  make  such  a 
reform  effective  would  be  the  establishment  of 
a  morals  police  and  detective  force  and  court 
to  deal  with  prostitution  and  vice  in  general. 
The  regular  police  will  always  be  inefficient  so 
long  as  men  are  amenable  to  bribes.  A  special 
police  of  this  sort  would  have  control  of  the 
city  at  large  and  would  not  be  tied  to  a  locality. 

The  court  should  have  two  sections :  ( 1 )  The 
judiciary  composed  of  a  judge  and  assistants 
trained  in  law  and  competent  to  deal  with  all 
legal  problems  arising  in  connection  with  rental 
of  property  for  prostitution,  violation  of  the 
excise  law,  neglect  of  performance  of  duty  on 
the  part  of  the  regular  police  and  especially  the 
investigation  of  the  taking  of  bribes,  the  white 
slave  traffic,  etc.  (2)  An  advisory  judicial 
and  executive  board  composed  of  the  ethical 
leaders  of  the  community,  under  whose  super- 
vision and  regulation  would  be  the  entire  busi- 
ness of  prostitution  and  the  control  of  the 
morals  police  and  detective  force.  Such  a 
scheme  without  doubt  would  effect  a  great 
change. 

But   all  this  would  not  cure  the  evil.     It 

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would  simply  minimize  it.  The  cure  lies  deeper. 
The  wiping  out  of  the  evil  could  come  in  no 
other  way  than  through  proper  training  of  the 
individual  in  the  hygiene  of  the  sexual  re- 
lation and  the  general  moral  development  of 
his  nature.  The  policy  of  criminal  modesty 
must  stop.  Mothers  and  fathers,  by  adopting 
the  absurd  methods  of  saying  nothing  to  their 
children,  especially  during  the  period  of  adoles- 
cence, are  largely  responsible  for  the  sexual 
abuse  so  prevalent  among  us.  The  prostitute 
comes,  for  the  most  part  from  the  poorer 
classes;  her  profligate  patron  is  not  confined 
to  any  class,  and  he  generally  comes  from  a 
home  where  questions  of  sex  are  taboo.  He  has 
been  allowed  to  pass  through  the  period  of 
puberty  with  its  sexual  awakenings  and  de- 
mands, its  undefined  longings  and  morbid  state, 
without  a  word  of  sympathy,  encouragement  or 
direction.  And  then  he  is  allowed  to  develop 
and  stumble  awkwardly  into  an  interpretation 
of  the  most  fundamental  processes  of  life.  He 
is  left  in  ignorance  of  procreation  and  not  a 
word  is  spoken  to  him  of  syphilis,  gonorrhea 
and  the  soft  chancre.  The  deeper  ethical  re- 
lations involved  are  not  touched  upon. 

The  home,  the  common  school,  and  all 
agencies  of  education,  both  secular  and  sacred, 
must  join  in  ethical  training  of  the  most  funda- 
mental sort  in  the  relation  of  the  sexes.  Such 

[346] 


THE    SOCIAL   EVIL 

a   scheme,   we   are   confident,   would  minimize 

the   evil   of   prostitution   and  would,  we  have 

faith    to    hope,    gradually    eliminate  this    evil 
which  is  exacting  such  a  price. 


[347] 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CONDITIONS   AND    METHODS    OF    SOCIAL    PROGRESS 
IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 

THERE  is  a  feeling  everywhere  in  America 
that,  in  the  management  of  our  cities,  we  are  not 
doing  as  well  as  we  should;  that,  with  our 
twentieth  century  science,  our  great  mechanical 
achievements,  our  splendid  religious  and  phi- 
lanthropic institutions,  we  should  be  able  better 
to  promote  the  public  welfare.  This  feeling  of 
discontent  and  dissatisfaction  gives  rise  to  a 
desire  to  do  something  to  change  things  for  the 
better,  and  citizens  everywhere  are  now  asking, 
"What  can  we  do  to  save  the  city  in  which  we 
live?"  A  great  many  remedies  are  offered  and 
a  great  many  devices  recommended.  Some  of 
these  are  superficial,  but  others  are  the  result 
of  careful  study  and  are  worthy  of  adoption. 
No  one  thing  yet  discovered  seems  to  be  a 
panacea  for  all  municipal  ills.  As  our  diffi- 
culties arise  from  many  different  causes,  many 
different  remedies  must  be  applied  in  order  to 
remove  them. 

There  are,  however,  a  few  fundamental  con- 

[348] 


CONDITIONS    AND   METHODS 

siderations  that  must  be  taken  into  account  in 
any  movement  for  civic  betterment.  Among 
these  we  emphasize  the  following: 

(a)  The  progress  of  society  is  promoted  main- 
ly by  the  conscious  effort  of  men  and  women.    If 
we  want  to  make  our  cities  better,  we  cannot 
do  it  by  sitting  still  and  permitting  things  to 
go  as  they  will.     If  we  want  better  cities,  we 
must  plan  and  work  to  make  them  better.    We 
no  longer  look  for  God  to  send  fire  from  heaven 
to  destroy  evil,  or  to  send  a  heavenly  visitor 
to  cure  human  ills.     We  may  pray  for  better 
cities,  but  we  must  answer  our  own  prayers  if 
we  expect  them  to  be  answered.     Neither  can 
we  trust  to  the  evolution  of  things  to  bring 
about  civic  betterment.     There  is  no  doubt  a 
force  in  the  world  working  for  righteousness, 
but  this  force  is  the  God  within  us  that  prompts 
us  to  do  the  right  thing.    Thus,  while  it  is  true 
that  destiny  plays  a  part  in  social  advancement, 
we  to-day  prefer  to  believe  that  our  destiny  is 
in  our  own  hands  and  this  belief  harmonizes 
with  the  facts  of  experience. 

(b)  No    social    alleviation   can    be    achieved 
until  it  is  desired  and  supported  by  a  large  part 
of  the  people.     Such  advocacy  on  the  part  of 
the   people   may   arise   from    several   different 
causes.    The  people  may  feel  the  burden  of  un- 
just conditions  and  be  led  to  protest  against 
them;  they  may  be  shocked  or  angered  at  a 

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MODERN    CITIES 

violation  of  their  moral  sense;  they  may  be 
stimulated  to  action  by  the  appeals  of  men 
who  have  a  vision  of  better  things;  or  they  may 
by  a  gradual  process  of  education  come  to  recog- 
nize the  need  of  social  betterment. 

Whatever  be  the  cause  of  the  feeling  and 
action  of  the  people,  there  must  be  well- 
grounded  reasons  for  the  steps  taken;  other- 
wise the  whole  reform  may  turn  out  to  be  a 
mere  social  effervescence.  Perhaps  the  com- 
monest way  of  working  for  social  betterment  is 
to  secure  the  passage  of  laws  by  legislative 
bodies.  It  is  thought  that,  if  a  law  requiring 
certain  action  on  the  part  of  the  people,  or  the 
prohibition  of  undesirable  actions,  is  placed  on 
the  statute  books,  the  reform  is  accomplished. 
The  law  books  of  every  State  are  filled  with 
statutes  forbidding  certain  acts  that  reformers 
deemed  opposed  to  the  general  welfare.  Many 
of  these  laws  are  not  in  accord  with  public 
sentiment,  and  although  they  are  allowed  to 
remain  laws,  no  one  is  able  to  enforce  them. 
The  law  prohibiting  the  sale  of  alcoholic  bev- 
erages on  Sunday,  which  is  on  the  statute  books 
of  many  Eastern  States,  is  an  example  of  this 
sort  of  legislation.  While  most  people  recog- 
nize that  it  would  be  a  desirable  thing  if  the 
sale  of  liquor  could  be  stopped  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  there  is  little  strong  feeling  in  re- 
gard to  this  matter.  On  the  other  hand,  there 

[350] 


CONDITIONS    AND    METHODS 

are  in  many  communities  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  people  who  feel  that  the  prohibition  of 
the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  is  a  restriction  on 
personal  liberty,  and  these  are  willing  not  only 
to  patronize  the  dealer  who  sells  to  them  on 
Sunday,  but  also  to  assist  in  defending  him  in 
case  he  is  prosecuted.  The  dealer,  on  account 
of  such  backing,  and  because  of  the  profits  of 
the  day's  sales,  is  willing  to  take  chances.  The 
result  is  the  practical  non-enforcement  of  the 
law,  and  the  law  itself,  instead  of  promoting 
social  well-being,  becomes  a  tool  that  is  used 
by  the  political  blackmailer  to  extort  campaign 
funds  or  political  support  from  liquor  dealers. 
The  mistake  made  by  promoters  of  such  legis- 
lation is  in  getting  legislation  before  getting 
the  earnest  support  of  a  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  most  permanent  social  betterment 
grows  out  of  the  felt  needs  of  a  considerable 
majority  of  the  people.  They  must  recognize 
that  a  certain  course  of  action  is  desirable  and 
must  acquire  the  custom,  or  habit,  of  doing  or 
not  doing,  as  the  case  may  be,  the  thing  neces- 
sary to  bring  about  social  betterment.  As  an 
illustration,  take  the  matter  of  school  at- 
tendance. A  half  century  ago  had  a  com- 
pulsory education  law  been  placed  on  the 
statute  books,  it  would  have  been  regarded  as 
an  infringement  of  parental  rights,  and  would 
have  been  impossible  of  enforcement.  Grad- 

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MODERN    CITIES 

ually,  however,  people  have  come  to  recognize 
the  need  of  education  and  the  importance  of  reg- 
ular school  attendance,  in  order  to  enable  the 
child  to  secure  the  necessary  equipment  for  life 
work.  It  became  the  custom  of  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  people  to  send  their  children 
regularly  to  public  schools.  It  happened,  how- 
ever, that  the  indifferent  and  shiftless  failed  to 
take  advantage  of  the  opportunities  offered. 
The  result  was  that  many  children  were  grow- 
ing up  in  ignorance  and  becoming  a  burden 
on  the  more  intelligent  part  of  the  community. 
The  perfectly  natural  thing  in  the  circum- 
stances was  done.  A  law  requiring  regular  at- 
tendance in  school  of  children  of  certain  ages 
was  passed  and  enforced  with  the  approval  of 
the  larger  part  of  the  people.  An  intelligent 
majority  in  this  way  imposed  its  will  upon  an 
ignorant  and  indifferent  minority.  Its  right  to 
do  so  can  never  be  successfully  questioned.  Un- 
fortunately, it  often  happens  that  the  intelli- 
gent and  thoughtful  members  of  a  community 
form  a  decided  minority.  In  such  a  case  the 
minority  may  submit  patiently  to  the  dictates 
of  the  majority,  or  they  may  endeavor  to  win 
over  as  many  as  possible  for  the  causes  they 
advocate.  It  is  mainly  by  this  latter  method 
that  social  betterment  results.  A  few  people 
in  any  community  have  a  vision  of  social  re- 
form. They  advocate  it  and  their  enthusiasm 

[352] 


CONDITIONS    AND   METHODS 

arouses  the  attention  and  enthusiasm  of  others. 
If  the  reform  advocated  is  rational,  and  the  peo- 
ple are  ready  for  it,  it  gradually  gains  favor, 
and  finally  the  majority  of  the  people  are 
ready  to  adopt  it. 

A  great  deal  of  blundering  is  done  and  many 
false  steps  result  from  the  eloquent  appeals  of 
agitators  for  causes  that  are  not  in  the  course 
of  social  progress.  Much  of  the  antipathy  felt 
by  the  practical  business  man  toward  the  social 
reformers  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  social  re- 
former is  too  often  narrow-minded  and  has  not 
taken  the  pains  to  acquaint  himself  with  the 
conditions  he  desires  to  remedy. 

(c)  The  historical  aspects  of  progress  must 
be  considered.  The  historical  development  of 
the  race  and  the  work  of  former  generations 
are  factors  that  must  be  taken  into  account.  It 
has  often  been  pointed  out  that  progress  is  the 
natural  result  of  the  succession  of  generations 
of  men.  The  experience  of  one  generation  is 
handed  down  to  the  next  for  its  profit  and 
guidance.  Each  succeeding  generation  may 
avoid  the  mistakes  and  profit  by  the  successes 
of  its  predecessors.  In  this  way,  each  genera- 
tion becomes  more  successful  than  its  prede- 
cessor. One  writer  has  used  the  striking  figure 
of  the  rise  of  man  as  a  series  of  generations, 
each  one  standing  on  the  shoulders  of  the  one 
preceding  it.  Beautiful  as  the  idea  may  seem, 

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MODERN    CITIES 

it  is  not  in  entire  accord  with  the  facts  of  his- 
tory. If  we  have  continually  profited  by  the 
discoveries  of  former  generations,  why  are  there 
lost  arts?  Why  have  we  not  continued  to  im- 
prove in  the  production  of  great  paintings  and 
great  buildings?  Why  are  many  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  former  generations  apparently  lack- 
ing at  the  present  time? 

It  is  no  doubt  true  that  the  accumulated  ex- 
perience of  the  race  is  the  basis  of  further 
progress.  It  must  be  remembered,  however, 
that  although  man  has  occupied  the  earth  many 
thousands  of  years,  his  advance  has  been  slow 
and  irregular.  Until  recent  times,  there  has 
been  no  desire  on  the  part  of  nations  to  advance 
by  mutual  helpfulness;  on  the  contrary,  each 
nation  formerly  regarded  the  progress  of 
others  as  a  menace  to  itself.  While  this  atti- 
tude prevailed,  war  was  the  foremost  occupa- 
tion of  men  and  kings  throughout  the  world. 
A  period  of  peace,  in  which  a  start  toward  bet- 
ter conditions  would  be  made,  would  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  period  of  war,  in  which  the  previous 
gain  would  be  obliterated.  Instead  of  profiting 
by  the  experience  of  one  war  and  seeking  to 
avoid  further  wars,  the  period  of  peace  follow- 
ing a  war  would  be  utilized  in  preparation  for 
the  next  war.  Society  in  such  a  state  could 
not  conserve  the  gains  made  during  periods  of 
peace,  and  progress  became  practically  impos- 


sible.  While  the  present  scientific  age  is  making 
rapid  advances  in  many  directions,  it  has  not  yet 
been  able  to  overcome  the  war  spirit  inherited 
from  earlier  generations.  Although  acknowl- 
edging the  folly  of  war  and  recognizing  it  as 
the  foe  of  progress,  civilized  nations  continue  to 
expend  enormous  amounts  in  building  warships 
and  equipping  armies.  The  ingrained  custom 
of  the  race  continues  to  prevail  over  its  better 
judgment. 

Another  bar  to  the  regular  forward  march  of 
man,  is  the  profligacy  with  which  some  genera- 
tions have  used  the  gifts  of  nature.  Rapid 
progress  bespeaks  a  favorable  environment. 
The  materials  with  which  to  build  must  be  at 
hand.  A  generation  that  depletes  the  soil,  that 
destroys  forests,  that  exhausts  mines,  leaves 
nothing  but  a  legacy  of  debts  to  its  successor. 
It  will  be  many  centuries  before  China  and 
Palestine  will  fully  recover  from  the  ruthless- 
ness  that  laid  waste  their  forests.  Fortunately, 
America  woke  up  to  the  necessity  of  conserva- 
tion before  the  day  of  redemption  was  past. 
Our  country  is  suffering  from  the  foolish  de- 
struction of  former  generations,  but  the  waste 
is  now  being  checked  and  the  process  of  res- 
toration has  begun. 

In  the  development  of  cities,  the  influence  of 
former  generations  is  felt  in  a  different  way. 
A  few  cities  like  Washington  have  been  laid 

[355  ] 


MODERN    CITIES 

out  by  men  of  vision,  and  their  growth  has 
proceeded  along  symmetrical  lines.  The  great 
majority  of  cities,  however,  are  mere  assem- 
blages of  houses  without  unity  of  design,  or 
coordination  of  parts.  To  transform  an  un- 
planned, unorganized  city  of  this  kind  into  a 
city  of  the  modern  type,  requires  not  only  the 
expenditure  of  much  energy  and  money,  but 
the  overcoming  of  many  legal  obstacles.  There 
is  no  better  illustration  of  the  visitation  of  the 
sins  of  parents  upon  children  than  the  condition 
of  unplanned  cities. 

Even  more  unpardonable  is  disregard  on  the 
part  of  one  generation  of  the  rights  of  succeed- 
ing generations.  Utterly  unmindful  of  the 
future,  many  American  cities  have  granted  per- 
petual franchises  to  public  service  corporations 
and  have  entered  into  contracts  and  leases,  or 
have  issued  bonds,  that  will  burden  many  suc- 
ceeding generations.  Thus  the  work  of  our  an- 
cestors may  aid,  or  may  retard,  our  progress. 
Likewise  the  work  of  our  generation  may  help 
or  hinder  the  next.  Like  the  individual,  the 
generation  neither  lives  nor  dies  unto  itself. 

(d)  Action  to  promote  progress  must  be 
based  on  scientific  knowledge.  The  principal 
reason  why  civilization  is  progressing  more 
rapidly  now  than  at  any  preceding  time,  is  that 
the  present  age  has  adopted  scientific  methods. 
Men  no  longer  are  satisfied  to  see  merely  the 

[356] 


CONDITIONS    AND   METHODS 

surface  of  things.  They  must  know  all  about 
them.  They  investigate,  they  experiment  and 
carefully  compare  results.  Research  is  con- 
ducted in  every  realm  of  knowledge  and  the 
information  gained  is  freely  and  widely  dis- 
seminated. At  first,  scientific  methods  were  ap- 
plied to  the  study  of  astronomy,  physics,  chem- 
istry, biology  and  medicine,  but  as  the  value  of 
the  method  became  evident,  its  scope  was  ex- 
tended to  nearly  all  forms  of  social  phenomena. 
Now,  the  first  requisite  in  any  movement  for 
social  reform  is  the  collection  of  data.  The  ef- 
fects of  present  conditions  or  practices  must  be 
accurately  determined  and  the  experience  of 
many  different  places  be  brought  together  and 
compared.  When  the  requisite  knowledge  is 
gained  and  a  satisfactory  remedy  found,  a  prop- 
aganda to  acquaint  the  people  with  the  facts 
and  to  induce  them  to  adopt  the  remedy  must 
be  carried  on.  The  successful  attack  on  the 
"Great  White  Plague,"  recently  carried  on  by 
the  New  York  State  Charities  Aid  Association 
and  other  societies,  is  a  good  illustration  of  this 
method.  The  nature  of  the  disease  and  the 
ways  of  combating  it  were  thoroughly  learned. 
Statistics  of  its  ravages  were  collected,  tabulated 
and  charted.  Attractive  booklets  telling  the 
story  of  the  dreaded  disease  were  prepared  and 
scattered  broadcast.  Public  meetings  were  held 
and  the  support  of  influential  men  and  women 

[357] 


MODERN    CITIES 

was  enlisted.  The  assistance  of  the  press  was 
secured  and  in  a  short  time  the  public  became 
convinced  that  there  should  be  general  cooper- 
ation for  the  eradication  of  the  plague. 

(e)    Social  progress  has  three  principal  aims: 

(1)  The  further  development  of  the  physical, 
intellectual  and  moral  powers  of  the  individual; 

(2)  the  development  of  better  social  and  eco- 
nomic relations,  and    (3)    the  improvement  of 
the  physical  environment.     Some  social  reform- 
ers go  to  the  extreme  of  placing  emphasis  en- 
tirely on  the  first,  others  place  it  entirely  on  the 
second  and  still  others  err  equally  in  advocating 
only  the  third.     The  three  are   closely  inter- 
related.   The  progress  of  society  is  inseparably 
bound  up   in  the   progress   of   the  individual. 
Likewise  the  development  of  the  individual  is 
dependent  on  the  development  of  society  and 
both  are  dependent  on  the  physical  environment. 
The  individual  cannot  attain  the  highest  degree 
of  development  in  the  midst  of  a  depraved  and 
corrupt  society;  neither  can  a  prosperous  and 
happy  community  be  made  up  of  corrupt  and 
depraved  individuals.     It  may  happen  that  the 
people  forming  a  community  are  so  badly  or- 
ganized that  their  social  acts  are  worse  than 
their  individual  acts,  but  it  is  more  probable 
that  the  acts  of  a  community  as  a  whole  will 
be  of  a  somewhat  higher  grade  than  those  of  the 
average  individuals  constituting  the  community. 

[358] 


CONDITIONS    AND    METHODS 

As  a  rule,  however,  the  individual  and  the  com- 
munity in  their  moral  standards  rise  and  fall 
together.  A  favorable  environment  promotes 
the  life,  health  and  economic  prosperity  of  both 
the  individual  and  the  community,  while  an  un- 
favorable environment  has  the  opposite  effect. 
None  of  these  factors  should  be  neglected. 

To  start  with,  if  our  aim  is  to  produce  the  best 
possible  men  and  women,  care  should  be  taken 
that  the  individual  be  well  born.  The  science 
of  eugenics,  which  has  given  rise  to  much  dis- 
cussion and  investigation,  is  beginning  to  be  of 
great  service  in  bringing  about  better  marriages, 
and  in  preventing  marriages  between  diseased 
and  abnormal  individuals.  Renewed  attention 
has  recently  been  given  to  the  laws  of  heredity, 
and  it  is  now  well  established  that  normal  indi- 
viduals beget  normal  individuals  and  that  im- 
beciles, idiots  and  neurasthenics  beget  their  like. 
The  one  way  therefore  to  eliminate  imbecility, 
idiocy,  and  insanity  from  society  is  to  prevent 
these  defective  classes  from  marrying  and  rear- 
ing children. 

The  second  step  in  the  production  of  capable 
men  and  women  is  the  safeguarding  of  the 
health  of  children.  Until  recent  years,  the 
majority  of  children  born  into  the  world 
died  before  reaching  the  age  of  five  years. 
Even  forty  years  ago  a  mortality  rate  of 
six  hundred  per  thousand  of  children  under 

[359] 


MODERN    CITIES 

the  age  of  one  year  was  not  uncommon.  This 
high  rate  was  not  due  to  any  inherent  weakness 
in  the  children,  or  to  the  effects  of  climate,  or 
pestilence.  Much  the  greater  number  of  chil- 
dren died  from  lack  of  proper  care,  due  not 
to  negligence  but  to  ignorance.  It  is  the  plain 
truth  that  mankind,  up  to  forty  years  ago,  did 
not  have  the  knowledge  to  deal  properly  with 
children  born  into  the  world.  We  have  already 
treated  the  statistical  phases  of  this  question  in 
the  chapter  on  "The  Conservation  of  Human 
Life."  They  are  of  great  importance  in  re- 
lation to  the  progress  of  society.  The  death  of 
a  large  proportion  of  children  at  an  early  age 
involves  a  tremendous  economic  loss  and  a  con- 
sequent lessening  of  the  capacity  of  the  human 
family.  We  need  not  emphasize  the  pain  and 
anxiety  due  to  the  birth  and  death  of  children 
to  show  further  the  great  significance  of  the 
problem. 

Fortunately  science  has  come  to  the  rescue. 
People  have  learned  to  care  for  children,  to 
feed  and  dress  them  properly  and  thus  prevent 
sickness  and  death.  It  is  now  conclusively 
demonstrated  that  a  high  infant  death-rate  is 
almost  positive  proof  of  an  ignorant  or  depraved 
community.  While  sufficient  knowledge  is  now 
at  hand  to  insure  the  health  and  comfort  of 
little  ones,  such  knowledge  is  not  yet  fully 
disseminated  and,  unfortunately,  the  means 

[360] 


CONDITIONS    AND   METHODS 

necessary  to  a  proper  application  of  the  knowl- 
edge are  not  always  at  hand. 

The  ordinary  milk  supplied  to  many  cities  is 
unfit  to  be  fed  to  infants  and  high  grades  of 
milk  sell  at  prices  beyond  the  reach  of  many. 
Attempts  are  being  made  to  remedy  the  matter 
by  securing  better  milk  in  cities.  Farmers  and 
dairymen  are  being  taught  to  realize  the  im- 
portance of  cleanliness  in  the  production  of 
milk.  They  are  required  by  law  to  keep  none 
but  healthy  cows.  They  must  also  properly 
cool  and  aerate  milk  and  must  sell  to  consumers 
in  the  city  the  milk  as  it  comes  from  the  cow 
without  watering  or  skimming.  These  simple 
propositions  contain  the  gist  of  the  milk  prob- 
lem. They  are  so  obvious  that  there  should  be 
no  need  of  emphasizing  them.  Owing,  however, 
to  ignorance  and  greed,  it  has  been  extremely 
difficult  to  secure  even  a  fair  degree  of  com- 
pliance with  the  law.  A  decided  gain,  however, 
has  been  made  in  the  last  decade. 

Much  progress  has  also  been  made  in  the  pro- 
duction of  pure  food  of  all  kinds.  It  is  now 
a  crime  in  many  states  to  place  on  the  market 
any  food  that  contains  any  poisonous  or  dele- 
terious substance,  and  there  is  a  strong  public 
sentiment  in  favor  of  the  manufacture  of  only 
pure  articles.  The  gain  made  in  this  way  means 
much  for  the  health  of  the  adult,  as  well  as  for 
infants. 

[361] 


MODERN    CITIES 

'There  is  another  phase  of  the  food  problem 
t'nat  is  not  so  promising.  Owing  to  various 
causes,  the  price  of  good  food  is  so  high  that 
families  with  an  average  income  are  unable  to 
secure  an  adequate  supply.  They  must  be  con- 
tent to  use  inferior  articles,  or  to  use  less  than 
the  normal  amount  of  the  best  food.  This  mat- 
ter will  probably  adjust  itself  by  a  return  to 
the  farms  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  great 
crowds  that  have  flocked  to  cities  during  the 
past  quarter  century.  It  is  certain  that  de- 
serted farms  and  excessive  prices  of  farm 
products  cannot  indefinitely  continue. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  health  and  well- 
being  of  the  individual,  the  water  drunk  by  him 
is  fully  as  important  as  the  food  he  consumes. 
Drinking  water  may  do  its  normal  work  of 
furthering  the  life  processes,  or  it  may  serve 
as  a  carrier  of  virulent  germs  or  deadly  poisons. 
It  is  almost  unbelievable  that,  less  than  a  half 
century  ago,  a  large  part  of  the  cities  and  vil- 
lages of  Europe  and  many  of  the  smaller  cities 
and  towns  of  America,  secured  their  water- 
supply  from  wells  sunk  in  the  streets  or  yards 
of  the  town.  At  the  same  time,  these  towns  had 
no  adequate  drainage  system.  The  waste  prod- 
ucts of  the  city  were  taken  up  by  the  soil  and 
the  soluble  parts  were  carried  into  wells.  Thus 
the  people  drank  their  own  filth,  and  disease  and 
death  followed.  Tremendous  strides  have  been 

[362] 


CONDITIONS    AND   METHODS 

made  in  the  matter  of  securing  pure  water  for 
cities.  Some  cities  like  Naples  and  New  York 
have  gone  into  the  mountains  many  miles  distant 
to  bring  down  to  the  people  of  the  city  pure 
mountain  water.  Other  cities,  such  as  Philadel- 
phia, Pittsburg,  and  Hamburg,  have  built  costly 
filtration  plants,  after  learning  by  experience 
the  danger  of  unfiltered  river  water. 

Not  only  is  the  health  guarded  by  protection 
of  the  food  and  water  supply,  but  steps  are  now 
being  taken  to  protect  the  other  great  source  of 
life,  the  atmosphere.  Recognition  of  the  influ- 
ence of  air  upon  health  is  even  more  recent  than 
that  of  food  and  water;  but  it  is  now  generally 
known  that  air,  in  order  to  render  the  body 
the  best  service,  must  be  free  from  dust,  smoke 
and  noxious  gases,  and  must  not  be  overcharged 
with  carbonic  acid.  Fortunately  the  atmosphere 
out-of-doors  is  almost  always  wholesome  and 
pure.  While  there  may  be  some  difference  be- 
tween air  in  the  streets  of  a  densely  populated 
city  and  air  on  the  mountainside,  still  the  former 
may  be  breathed  without  risk,  provided  it  is 
free  from  dust.  The  great  problem  is  to  secure 
the  requisite  amount  of  pure  air  in  homes,  fac- 
tories, offices  and  public  meeting-places.  Great 
progress,  however,  is  being  made.  New  school 
buildings  now  have  systems  of  forced  ventila- 
tion, and  open-air  schools  are  provided  for 
anemic  and  tuberculous  children.  In  the  erec- 

[363] 


MODERN    CITIES 

tion  of  modern  houses,  care  is  taken  to  provide 
adequate  means  of  ventilation.  Factories  and 
mercantile  establishments  are  required  by  law  to 
be  properly  ventilated  and  are  inspected  by 
agents  of  the  state  to  compel  compliance  with 
the  statute.  The  worst  conditions  with  respect 
to  air  are  found  in  crowded  lodging-houses  and 
tenements  where  large  numbers  of  men  and 
women  sleep  in  small  closed  rooms,  many  of 
which  are  without  windows  or  other  means  of 
ventilation.  The  dreaded  white  plague,  while 
the  result  of  many  causes,  owes  its  continuance 
more  to  lack  of  pure  air  in  sleeping-rooms  than 
to  any  other  cause.  In  fact,  this  disease,  in  its 
incipient  stages,  is  now  being  cured  by  supply- 
ing, under  favorable  conditions,  the  fresh  air  the 
system  craves. 

The  health  of  individuals  is  also  promoted  by 
the  work  of  health  departments  in  the  preven- 
tion of  the  spread  of  contagious  diseases,  by  the 
use  of  antitoxins,  by  skilful  treatment  of  dis- 
eases at  their  inception,  by  the  use  of  precau- 
tions to  prevent  accidents  and  in  many  other 
ways.  While  we  cannot  hope  for  the  banish- 
ment of  sickness  and  death,  we  may  confidently 
look  forward  to  a  time  when  there  will  be  com- 
paratively little  sickness  other  than  that  inci- 
dent to  old  age  and  when  the  great  majority 
of  deaths  will  occur  at  an  advanced  age,  and 

[364] 


CONDITIONS    AND   METHODS 

will  be  caused  by  the  gradual  dissolution  of  the 
physical  powers. 

The  problem  of  caring  for  those  afflicted  with 
mental  diseases  and  the  defective  and  unfortu- 
nate members  of  society,  is  almost  as  difficult 
as  that  of  caring  for  the  physically  ill.  The  old 
method  of  caring  for  the  public  poor  was  to 
gather  them  together  in  an  almshouse  and  give 
them  merely  enough  food  to  maintain  them  and 
enough  clothing  to  cover  them.  In  these  alms- 
houses  of  a  half-century  ago,  were  crowded  to- 
gether the  sick,  the  blind,  the  feeble-minded, 
the  idiotic,  the  insane,  the  drunkard,  the  tramp, 
the  physically  maimed,  the  orphan  and  neglected 
children.  No  attempt  was  made  to  give  each 
class  the  treatment  needed,  but  all  were  treated 
alike,  so  far  as  the  circumstances  of  the  alms- 
house  would  permit. 

Luckily  we  have  escaped  from  this  horrible 
nightmare  of  public  charity.  A  new  and  better 
system  has  been  evolved.  A  careful  classifi- 
cation is  now  made  of  dependent,  defective  and 
delinquent  classes  and  a  separate  institution  is 
provided  for  each.  Well-equipped  hospitals  are 
provided  for  the  sick,  in  which  the  poor  may 
have  the  benefit  of  the  highest  medical  skill. 
Schools  are  provided  for  the  blind,  in  which  they 
may  learn  music  and  some  of  the  manual  arts, 
as  well  as  ordinary  school  subjects.  Feeble- 

[365] 


MODERN    CITIES 

minded  children  are  provided  a  home  and  given 
special  training  which  enables  a  portion  of  them 
to  become  self-supporting.  Feeble-minded 
women  of  child-bearing  age  are  maintained  in 
custodial  asylums  under  close  surveillance. 
Feeble-minded  men  and  idiots  are  given  cus- 
todial care  and  are  taught  to  do  the  simplest 
forms  of  manual  labor.  The  deaf  and  dumb  are 
sent  to  schools  where  they  are  given  special 
instruction  to  enable  them  to  become  self-sup- 
porting men  and  women.  The  insane  are  cared 
for  in  state  hospitals,  where  they  are  given 
occupation,  recreation  and  amusement  especially 
intended  to  restore  them  to  a  normal  condition. 
Confirmed  inebriates  are  cared  for  in  farm  col- 
onies where  they  are  given  manual  labor  and 
wholesome  food  to  restore  them  to  health,  and 
to  enable  them  to  overcome  vicious  habits.  De- 
pendent children  are  cared  for  in  orphan  asy- 
lums, operated  under  the  cottage  system  and  are 
trained  to  do  various  kinds  of  useful  work  and 
given  a  common  school  education. 

The  almshouse  remains  only  as  a  refuge  for 
dependent  old  people  who  have  no  other  home. 
The  tramp  problem  unfortunately  is  not  solved. 
In  some  places  farm  colonies  for  tramps  have 
been  organized,  but  their  success  has  not  been 
so  marked  that  their  use  has  become  general. 
The  ordinary  system  of  dealing  with  the  tramp 
is  to  drive  him  from  one  town  to  another,  or 

[366] 


to  send  him  to  the  penitentiary  for  a  short  term. 
It  is  recognized  that  this  is  an  absolutely  useless 
and  irrational  method  of  procedure  and  that 
some  other  method  must  be  evolved.  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  solution  will  be  found  in  preven- 
tion rather  than  in  cure. 

In  addition  to  dependents  thus  cared  for  in 
institutions,  there  is  a  large  number  of  people 
in  every  city  that  fall  below  the  line  of  self- 
support  and  must  receive  temporary  help.  To 
this  class  "outdoor  relief"  is  given  by  a  central 
bureau  of  charities.  In  some  cities,  relief  is 
extended  to  applicants  with  little  or  no  investi- 
gation; in  others,  a  careful  inquiry  into  the 
causes  of  poverty  in  each  case  is  made.  The 
Elberfeld  system  of  helping  the  poor,  by  which 
the  cooperation  of  a  large  number  of  interested 
citizens  in  every  section  of  the  city  is  secured, 
has  not  been  introduced  in  America  to  any  con- 
siderable extent.  The  special  value  of  the 
Elberfeld  system  is  that  it  secures  first-hand 
information  concerning  every  applicant  for  re- 
lief and  it  does  not  stop  with  giving  food  and 
clothing,  but  it  undertakes  to  restore  the  impov- 
erished person  or  family  to  self-support.  More- 
over, friendly  visitors  in  various  parts  of  the 
city  are  on  guard  to  prevent  destitution.  If  a 
family  is  on  the  downward  road,  the  cause  is 
determined  and  a  remedy  applied.  If  the  pov- 
erty is  due  to  lack  of  work,  employment  is 

[367] 


MODERN    CITIES 

secured.  If  it  is  due  to  drunkenness  or  vice  or 
crime  on  the  part  of  the  parent,  steps  are  taken 
to  correct  the  evil.  It  is  difficult  to  understand 
why  a  system  that  has  worked  well  in  Germany 
since  1852,  has  not  displaced  the  unsatisfactory 
system  in  use  in  most  American  cities. 

The  delinquent  and  criminal  classes  form 
another  great  barrier  in  the  path  of  progress. 
In  dealing  with  these  classes,  modern  society 
has  made  considerable  progress,  but  much  still 
remains  to  be  done  before  conditions  can  be 
said  to  approach  the  ideal.  Under  the  old 
method  of  dealing  with  criminals,  first  offenders 
of  all  kinds  and  old  offenders  awaiting  trial 
would  be  sent  to  the  county  jail  or  penitentiary. 
These  institutions,  instead  of  being  a  help  to  the 
community  in  lessening  crime,  were  literally 
breeding  places  of  crime.  Youthful  offenders 
sat  at  the  feet  of  hardened  criminals,  and 
learned  lessons  of  crime  that  were  put  into  prac- 
tical operation  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  was 
offered. 

The  harm  resulting  from  housing  together 
criminals  of  all  classes  has  finally  been  recog- 
nized and  separate  institutions  have  been  pro- 
vided for  youthful  criminals.  Delinquent  chil- 
dren are  now  sent  to  industrial  and  agricultural 
schools  which  are  conducted  on  the  cottage  sys- 
tem and  in  which  habits  of  industry  are  incul- 
cated and  useful  trades  taught.  Criminals  be- 

[368] 


CONDITIONS   AND   METHODS 

tween  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  twenty-one  are 
sent  to  reformatories  where  they  are  given  an 
opportunity  to  work  and  study  under  whole- 
some conditions. 

Unfortunately,  the  old  type  of  county- jail 
and  penitentiary  still  exists  in  many  localities 
and,  although  it  is  rare  that  a  child  is  sent  to 
one  of  these  institutions,  little  care  is  exerted 
to  prevent  criminals  of  different  classes  from 
mingling  together. 

Great  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  prison 
life  of  adult  criminals.  The  old  idea  of  treat- 
ing the  criminal  as  an  outcast  of  society  is  giv- 
ing way  to  that  of  treating  him  as  a  human 
being  who  is  to  be  helped  to  a  better  life.  By 
the  use  of  the  indeterminate  sentence  and  the 
parole  system  prisoners  are  encouraged  to  make 
good  records  in  the  prison,  and  are  also  given 
an  opportunity  to  attend  school  and  to  learn 
useful  trades  while  serving  their  sentences. 

The  normal  part  of  the  population  is  greatly 
burdened  by  the  necessity  of  caring  for  all  the 
above-named  classes.  The  extent  of  such  bur- 
den varies  in  different  municipalities,  but  every- 
where it  is  much  greater  than  it  should  be.  The 
great  problem  is  to  prevent  social  wreckage,  and 
it  is  to  this  phase  of  the  problem  that  philanthro- 
pists and  sociologists  are  now  turning.  There 
is  certainly  little  encouragement  for  social  work- 
ers to  treat  continually  an  increasing  number 

[369] 


MODERN    CITIES 

of  dependents  of  the  various  classes,  even  though 
the  treatment  is  carried  on  in  an  enlightened 
way.  Society  must  prevent  the  production  of 
dependents. 

Up  to  the  present  time,  comparatively  little 
study  has  been  given  to  the  prevention  of  dis- 
ease, accident,  crime,  imbecility  and  social  in- 
efficiency. Society  seems  to  have  been  content 
with  improvement  of  methods  of  treating  the 
unfortunate  classes.  The  social  worker  of  to- 
day, however,  puts  prevention  in  the  foreground 
and  views  alleviating  charity  as  a  temporary 
necessity,  as  something  that  will  pass  away  when 
preventive  methods  have  been  perfected. 

The  classification  of  the  different  causes  of 
dependency  is  proving  of  great  assistance  in 
devising  preventive  remedies.  One  thing  is  now 
set  apart  from  another,  so  that  it  may  be  stud- 
ied separately  and  a  proper  solution  worked  out. 

Physical  sickness  is  probably  the  greatest 
single  cause  of  poverty  and  dependency.  Many 
a  family  living  close  to  the  margin  is  able  to 
maintain  itself,  so  long  as  all  its  members  are 
well,  but  if  the  wage-earner  becomes  ill,  or  if 
other  members  of  the  family  suffer  from  pro- 
tracted sickness,  then  debts  and  a  greater  or  less 
measure  of  dependency  result.  Poverty  in  turn 
causes  sickness.  Thus  the  elimination  of  one 
would  tend  to  eliminate  the  other.  As  before 
mentioned,  most  of  the  ills  suffered  by  man  are 

[370] 


CONDITIONS    AND   METHODS 

avoidable.  A  large  part  of  these  ills  could  be 
prevented  by  a  careful  observance  by  all  the 
people  of  the  well-known  laws  of  hygiene.  In 
most  cases,  all  that  is  needed  is  a  bountiful  sup- 
ply of  fresh  air,  good  wholesome  food,  suitable 
clothing  and  shelter  and  a  proper  amount  of 
sleep.  These  simple  necessaries,  which  our  civi- 
lization should  vouchsafe  to  every  one,  are  prob- 
ably lacking  in  the  lives  of  more  than  one-half 
the  people  of  every  civilized  country. 

Science,  however,  enables  us  to  go  farther. 
Our  knowledge  of  germs  enables  us  to  keep 
away  from  and  stamp  out  contagious  diseases 
and  to  exclude  from  abrasions  of  the  skin,  the 
germs  that  cause  tetanus  and  blood-poisoning. 
Medical  skill  is  also  teaching  us  how  to  make 
ourselves  immune  from  the  attacks  of  many 
forms  of  disease. 

Mental  diseases  are  more  difficult  to  prevent 
than  physical  diseases.  Psychiatrists  who  are 
devoting  their  lives  to  the  subject  are  finding 
out  the  causes  of  insanity  and  are  beginning  to 
point  the  way  to  its  final  elimination. 

The  part  that  heredity  plays  in  producing 
dependency,  idiocy,  insanity  and  many  physical 
ills  is  just  being  ascertained  in  a  definite  scien- 
tific manner.  Certain  facts  concerning  heredi- 
tary tendencies  have  been  known  for  a  long 
time,  but  the  matter  was  not  clearly  enough 
worked  out  to  warrant  any  definite  line  of  pro- 

[371] 


MODERN    CITIES 

cedure.  Modern  students  of  eugenics,  however, 
not  only  state  the  facts  but  recommend  the 
remedy.  Their  proposal,  as  previously  men- 
tioned, is  to  restore  society  to  a  normal  condi- 
tion by  preventing  the  reproduction  of  criminals, 
idiots,  feeble-minded  and  insane  persons.  They 
not  only  propose  custodial  care  for  dependents 
of  these  classes,  but  advocate  the  performance 
of  operations  that  will  effectually  preclude  their 
bringing  children  into  the  world.  Laws  author- 
izing vasectomy  have  recently  been  placed  on 
the  statute  books  of  California,  Indiana  and  New 
York.  While  there  may  be  some  differences  of 
opinion  as  to  the  advisability  of  such  operations, 
there  can  be  no  question  whatever  that  degener- 
ate people  should  not  be  allowed  to  beget  off- 
spring. If  thorough  work  is  done  along  this 
line,  we  may  be  assured  that  there  will  be  a 
great  lessening  of  the  numbers  of  feeble-minded, 
insane  and  other  social  dependents. 

Poverty  must  also  be  abolished.  The  elimi- 
nation of  the  inefficient  classes  will  of  itself  do 
much  to  banish  poverty,  but  so  long  as  we  have 
the  competitive  system  we  cannot  entirely  es- 
cape the  impoverishment  of  a  portion  of  the 
people.  Like  sickness,  poverty  has  until  recent 
times  been  deemed  a  necessary  concomitant  of 
human  society.  People  have  accepted  the  say- 
ing, "The  poor,  ye  have  always  with  you,"  as 
of  eternal  and  universal  application,  although 

[372] 


CONDITIONS    AND   METHODS 

we  are  learning  it  was  nothing  of  the  kind. 
Many  people  have  regarded  poverty  as  a  social 
blessing.  Some  have  considered  it  as  a  neces- 
sary means  of  development.  Even  Andrew 
Carnegie  has  extolled  its  virtues.  "Poverty," 
he  says,  "develops  a  man;  wealth  causes  him  to 
degenerate ;  therefore  wealth  should  be  abolished 
and  poverty  considered  a  blessing."  Others 
have  considered  poverty  as  a  means  by  the  Al- 
mighty to  chasten  his  loved  ones. 

These  ideas  are  now  passing,  and  poverty  is 
being  rightly  thought  of  as  a  social  disease  that 
must  be  cured  and  prevented.  There  can  be 
no  mistaking  the  fact  that  poverty  is  a  great 
barrier  across  the  path  of  civilization.  Think 
of  a  community  with  no  poor  people!  Imagine 
a  city  in  which  there  is  no  poverty!  The 
realized  vision  of  such  a  city  would  mean  more 
to  the  world  than  the  apostle's  vision  of  the 
new  Jerusalem. 

Several  special  works  treating  of  poverty  and 
its  elimination  have  recently  been  written.  We 
shall  therefore  go  no  farther  than  to  mention 
briefly  some  of  the  ideas  that  are  advanced.  It 
is  now  generally  recognized  that  poverty  arises 
from  two  principal  causes,  namely,  individual 
inefficiency  and  social  injustice.  The  first  cause 
may  be  removed  by  the  prevention  of  sickness 
and  degeneracy  as  above  outlined,  and  by  the 
proper  education  of  the  individual. 

[373] 


In  our  chapter  on  "Recent  Progress  in  Edu- 
cation" we  pointed  out  the  efforts  that  are  now 
being  made  to  relate  education  to  practical  life. 
The  new  aim  is  to  develop  the  child  into  an  effi- 
cient member  of  society.  In  Germany  where  the 
schools  were  shaped  to  this  end  earlier  and  to  a 
greater  extent  than  in  any  other  country,  the 
effect  is  already  evident  in  the  increased  capacity 
of  the  average  individual  and  the  consequent 
lessening  of  poverty. 

The  bringing  in  of  proper  social  and  economic 
conditions  is  no  less  difficult  and  no  less  impor- 
tant. A  man  may  be  physically  well,  mentally 
capable  and  able  and  willing  to  perform  skilled 
work.  What  he  shall  do  and  what  he  shall  get 
for  what  he  does,  is  a  matter  for  society  to 
determine.  Society  may  take  the  attitude  that 
it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter  and  let  the 
individual  shift  for  himself.  It  may  assume  the 
function  of  partially  controlling  conditions  of 
employment,  or  it  may  practically  control  the 
whole  process  of  production.  The  same  is  true 
of  distribution  and  exchange.  The  old  theory 
based  on  the  writings  of  Adam  Smith  and  his 
school,  was  that  fair,  open  and  free  competition 
would  regulate  everything  and  bring  to  each 
person  full  economic  justice.  A  fair  trial  of  the 
theory  has  been  made  and,  although  it  worked 
as  well  during  the  last  century  as  any  doctrine 
that  could  have  been  applied,  it  is  not  suited  to 

[  374-  ] 


CONDITIONS   AND   METHODS 

the  present  age  and  in  its  original  sense  has  been 
practically  abolished.  We  have  at  the  present 
time  competition  between  cooperating  groups 
but  very  little  competition  between  individuals. 
Cooperation  has  become  the  keynote  of  modern 
economics.  In  its  highest  sense  it  means  that 
the  members  constituting  a  community  should 
work  together  for  the  advancement  of  the  in- 
terests of  each  member.  By  thus  working 
together,  the  advantages  of  the  division  of  labor 
and  of  large-scale  production  would  be  gains  to 
all.  While  few  communities  have  as  yet  adopted 
general  cooperation,  the  idea  has  been  used  in 
the  formation  of  trusts,  labor-unions,  cooper- 
ative societies,  profit-sharing  enterprises,  insur- 
ance companies,  etc.  Society  has  only  a  step 
farther  to  go  to  secure  general  cooperation  and 
the  trend  is  in  that  direction. 

Under  general  cooperation,  poverty  would  be 
almost  impossible.  It  could  result  only  in  cases 
of  famine  or  catastrophe.  Henry  George's  idea 
that  societj7  should  own  all  the  national  re- 
sources including  the  land,  and  justly  distribute 
the  advantages  to  be  derived  therefrom  among 
the  whole  population,  would  naturally  be  in- 
cluded in  a  general  cooperative  scheme. 

In  the  government  of  cities  as  well  of  nations 
the  tendency  is  decidedly  toward  greater  social 
solidarity.  The  city  is  coming  to  be  regarded 
as  a  cooperative  community  which  should  be  free 

[375] 


MODERN    CITIES 

to  regulate  its  own  affairs.  Citizens  are  de- 
manding that  the  management  of  the  city  shall 
be  in  their  own  hands  and  that  the  officers 
chosen  to  conduct  the  business  of  the  munici- 
pality shall  be  at  all  times  amenable  to  the 
public.  To  this  end,  many  cities  have  adopted 
the  commission  form  of  government  with  the 
initiative,  referendum  and  recall.  The  exten- 
sion of  woman's  suffrage  is  another  step  in  the 
same  direction. 

The  efforts  that  are  being  made  in  cities  to 
improve  the  physical  environment  have  been 
outlined  in  the  first  five  chapters  of  this  work. 
The  recent  advance  in  city  planning,  in  housing 
and  in  making  cities  beautiful  augurs  well  for 
the  city  of  the  future. 

In  spite  of  the  persistence  in  our  cities  of 
much  that  is  unworthy  of  this  enlightened  age 
the  outlook  is  full  of  hope.  We  may  confidently 
look  forward  to  a  city  in  which  there  will  be  no 
poverty,  no  crime,  no  contagious  diseases  and  no 
ignorance;  in  their  stead  will  be  comfort,  justice, 
health,  universal  education  and  good-will. 


[876] 


APPENDIX 

AMERICAN    MUNICIPAL    MISGOVEENMENT   AS   A 
HERITAGE 

[The  status  of  British  cities  previous  to  the  Municipal 
Reform  Act  of  1835  requires  a  more  elaborate  treatment 
than  that  given  in  Chapter  IX.  This  chapter  is  therefore 
appended.] 

THE  municipalities  of  the  United  States  are 
the  direct  heirs  of  the  British  borough.  It  will 
be  of  interest  to  trace  some  of  the  causes  of  their 
mismanagement.  This  takes  us  back  to  the 
"First  Report  of  the  Commissioners  appointed 
to  inquire  into  the  Municipal  Corporations  of 
England  and  Wales.  Presented  by  his  majes- 
ty's command.  Ordered  to  be  printed  30th 
March,  1835."  *  This  report  gives  us  a  sum- 
mary of  the  conditions  then  obtaining.  William 
IV.  in  his  commission  says : 

"Whereas,  an  humble  Address  has  been  pre- 
sented unto  Us  by  the  Knights,  Citizens  and 
Burgesses,  and  Commissioners  of  Shires  and 
Burghs  in  Parliament  assembled,  beseeching  Us, 
that  We  would  be  graciously  pleased  to  appoint 

1  All  the  quotations  in  the  Appendix  are  from  this  report. 
[377] 


MODERN    CITIES 

a  Commission  to  inquire  as  to  the  existing  State 
of  Municipal  Corporations  in  England  and 
Wales,"  etc. 

The  commission  so  appointed  did  a  splendid 
and  thorough  piece  of  work.  It  forwarded  a  re- 
quest to  each  municipality  asking  for  general  in- 
formation; it  conducted  public  examinations  in 
each  borough,  and  was  thus  able  to  deal  specific- 
ally with  each  case.  Five  of  these  corporations 
and  several  London  companies  refused  to  give 
information;  four  other  corporations  and  sev- 
eral London  companies  refused  part  of  the  re- 
quired information. 

Early  Charters 

Many  municipal  corporations  were  established 
in  fact  long  before  they  were  authorized  by  law. 
The  powers  of  government,  as  a  rule,  so  far  as 
could  be  ascertained,  were  vested  in  the  superior 
magistracy.  "In  extraordinary  emergencies  the 
whole  body  of  burgesses  were  called  upon  to 
sanction  the  measures  which  interested  the  com- 
munity." Such  an  arrangement  was  rather  un- 
wieldy; because  of  this  it  became  the  habit  to 
form  a  committee  from  the  larger  body  which 
was  dissolved  as  soon  as  the  business  in  hand  was 
transacted.  In  the  course  of  time  these  com- 
mittees became  permanent  and  were  akin  to 
what  became  known  as  common  councils;  thus  a 
common  council  was  that  which  at  first  was  called 

[378] 


APPENDIX 

in  either  by  the  aldermen  or  the  presiding  func- 
tionary to  advise  respecting  extraordinary  mu- 
nicipal problems. 

There  was  no  uniformity  in  the  constituencies 
of  the  boroughs.  In  general,  the  municipal 
magistracy  and  councils  "were  the  resident  and 
effective  heads  of  the  community."  "The  com- 
munity probably  included  in  its  members,  all 
who  shared  in  its  burthens,  and  were  liable  to  fill 
its  offices." 

Not  much  earlier  than  the  reign  of  Richard 
II  (1377-1399),  justices  of  the  peace  and  la- 
borers were  added  to  the  municipal  magistracy 
and  its  criminal  and  civil  jurisdiction  was  ex- 
tended. During  this  reign  began  the  practice 
of  appointing  municipal  magistrates  justices  of 
the  peace  by  charter.  In  the  period  intervening 
between  the  reigns  of  Richard  II  and  Henry 
VIII  a  practice  was  followed  of  admitting 
members  to  the  municipal  corporations  merely 
upon  a  personal  right  without  any  qualification 
either  of  residence  or  property. 

The  greater  number  of  municipal  charters 
were  granted  between  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII 
and  the  Revolution  (1547-1688).  The  govern- 
ing principle  in  all  these  was  to  make  the  com- 
munity powerless  and  to  augment  the  power  of 
the  governing  body.  Thus  municipal  managers 
became  a  close  corporation  absolutely  self-elect- 
ive. The  motive  for  this  attitude  was  associated 

[379] 


MODERN    CITIES 

with  influencing  the  choice  and  election  of  mem- 
bers of  parliament.  During  the  same  period  also 
the  office  of  recorder,  which  hitherto  had  been 
confined  to  the  larger  boroughs  was  established 
in  some  of  the  smaller  ones.  Another  office  cre- 
ated was  that  of  high  chief  steward,  through 
which  the  borough  was  connected  with  the  aris- 
tocracy and  the  crown. 

During  the  reigns  of  Charles  II  (1660-1685) 
and  James  II  (1685-1688)  many  boroughs  were 
induced  to  give  up  their  charters  and  allow  the 
crown  to  nominate  their  principal  officers.  But 
after  the  Revolution  most  of  them  returned  to 
their  former  charters.  Charters  granted  after  the 
Revolution  resembled  their  prototypes;  they 
manifested  little  regard  for  municipal  manage- 
ment or  improvement  and  there  was  no  uniform- 
ity of  administration.  Municipal  corporations 
could  not  be  relied  upon  for  good  government; 
improvements  in  the  boroughs  came  from  sources 
outside  the  governing  bodies. 

The  Corporate  Body 

There  was  a  bewildering  medley  of  municipal 
corporations.  Some  had  a  definite  number  of 
incorporators.  Most  charters  incorporated  the 
men  and  inhabitants  of  the  boroughs.  The  char- 
ter makers  were  wise  in  their  generation;  they 
invariably  provided  for  a  large  number  of  in- 
corporators but  were  always  careful  to  leave  the 

[380] 


APPENDIX 

rights  of  freemen  undefined.  The  charter  once 
obtained,  it  was  easy  work  to  restrict  the  privi- 
leges of  the  burgesses  to  suit  their  purposes.  The 
method  of  being  admitted  into  the  corporation 
was  by  a  vote  of  the  governors.  As  stated  above 
all  qualifications  were  frequently  waived.  In 
the  large  corporations  freedom  could  be  gained 
by:  (1)  Birth.  In  general,  the  father's  freedom 
was  transferred  to  the  children  with  certain  quali- 
fications. (2)  Marriage.  A  man  acquired  free- 
dom by  marrying  either  the  daughter  or  the 
widow  of  a  freeman.  (3)  Servitude.  Service 
under  indenture  for  seven  years  within  the 
borough  or  any  kind  of  service  for  the  borough 
even  beyond  its  limits  was  awarded  with  freedom. 
A  distinction  was  almost  universally  made  be- 
tween the  rights  of  freemen  and  of  inhabitants. 
The  corporations  almost  without  exception 
claimed  the  right  to  confer  freedom.  In  the 
city  of  London  a  definite  sum  of  money  was 
exacted  for  the  privilege.  Here  also,  as  well  as 
in  some  other  cities,  membership  in  the  guilds 
was  a  prerequisite  of  entrance  into  the  municipal 
corporation. 

The  corporate  body  exercised  the  power  of 
electing  members  of  parliament  and  officers  of 
the  boroughs.  Often  they  retained  the  former 
right  when  the  latter  was  lost.  Freemen  were 
exempt  from  many  tolls  and  duties;  they  alone 
were  eligible  to  corporate  offices;  they  were  ex- 

[381] 


MODERN    CITIES 

empt  from  county  juries;  they  had  certain  rights 
and  privileges  in  the  courts.  In  Oxford,  York 
and  Beverley  they  had  the  exclusive  right  to 
trade.  They  and  their  families  were  the  sole 
objects  of  charity. 

The  Governing  Body 

This  consisted  of  the  head  of  the  municipality 
and  the  common  council.  We  find  the  names, 
mayor,  portreeve,  bailiff,  steward,  etc.,  given 
to  the  principal  office.  Some  boroughs  subor- 
dinated the  office  of  bailiff  to  that  of  the  mayor, 
while  in  others  the  chief  power  was  shared  by 
two  bailiffs  or  stewards. 

The  mayor  presided  over  the  common  council. 
In  Caermarthen,  Ipswich  and  Berwick-upon- 
Tweed  the  freemen  were  the  governing  body. 
In  Richmond  it  was  composed  of  twenty-four 
selected  freeman  although  at  a  later  date  it  con- 
sisted of  the  common  council. 

The  common  council  was  composed  of  alder- 
men and  councilors.  Occasionally  another  divi- 
sion was  made.  In  many  boroughs  a  majority 
of  each  division  was  necessary  to  form  a  quorum. 
Aldermen  seldom  acted  apart  from  councilors. 

Sometimes  the  governing  power  was  confined 
to  the  head  of  the  corporation  and  aldermen  as 
in  Kingston-upon-Hull  and  Pontefract. 

Generally  each  corporation  had  a  recorder 
who  became  a  member  by  charter  and  was  the 

[382] 


APPENDIX 

legal  adviser  of  it.  The  bailiffs  at  Carlisle,  the 
sheriff  at  Newcastle,  the  coroners  and  cham- 
berlains at  Scarborough,  the  sheriffs,  coroners 
and  chamberlains  at  Lincoln  and  both  sheriffs 
and  ex-sheriffs  at  York  were  entitled  to  take 
part  in  government  by  virtue  of  their  office. 

There  were  very  few  instances  in  which  the 
freemen  chose  mayors;  and  where  this  was  done 
the  choice  had  to  be  made  either  from  the  coun- 
cil or  from  those  nominated  by  the  council.  The 
general  rule  was  election  by  the  common  council 
of  a  mayor  from  its  own  membership.  The  term 
was  one  year. 

Members  of  the  common  council  were  elected 
by  the  council  itself.  They  might  be  nominated 
by  the  mayor.  The  term  was  for  life.  Resi- 
dence was  a  qualification  in  some  cases.  Vacan- 
cies were  filled  by  the  aldermen.  In  London 
and  Norwich  members  of  the  common  council 
were  elected  by  large  bodies  of  freemen. 

The  functions  of  the  governing  body  were  to: 

1.  Enact  by-laws. 

2.  In  some  boroughs,  impose  taxes. 

3.  Nominate  and  elect  freemen. 

4.  Manage  corporate  property. 

5.  Dispense  patronage. 

6.  Elect  borough  magistrates. 

7.  Choose  and  elect  members  of  parliament. 

8.  Distribute  charities. 

9.  Act  as  commissioners  frequently  for  local 
acts.  [  383  ] 


MODERN    CITIES 

No  salary  was  paid.  London,  owing  to  the 
great  mass  of  business,  formed  an  exception; 
here  councilors  were  paid  for  attending  commit- 
tees, but  the  fees  were  very  inadequate. 

The  Corporate  Officers 

These  were  the  mayor,  recorder,  town  clerk, 
coroner,  chamberlain  or  treasurer,  high  steward, 
and  in  cities  and  towns  which  were  counties 
mayors,  recorders,  town  clerks  and  sheriffs  had 
the  power  to  appoint  deputies. 

The  mayor  was :  ( 1 )  president  of  the  common 
council.  (2)  Chief  magistrate  and  executive  offi- 
cer of  the  corporation.  (3)  Returning  officer  for 
members  of  parliament  in  county  boroughs.  (4) 
Generally  president  of  the  quarter  sessions  for 
the  boroughs.  (5)  Often  judge  of  the  court  of 
record.  (6)  Sometimes  coroner  ex-officio.  (7) 
Generally  clerk  of  markets.  (8)  Sometimes 
keeper  of  the  jail.  (9)  Occasionally  treasurer 
of  the  corporation.  (10)  Commissioner  ex-officio 
of  police  supervision.  (11)  In  port  towns,  the 
admiral;  in  Rochester  and  a  few  other  places  he 
exercised  this  authority  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
admiralty  of  the  kingdom;  at  Southampton  and 
a  few  other  places  he  had  concurrent  jurisdiction 
with  the  admiralty  of  the  realm.  Frequently  he 
appointed  all  inferior  officers.  In  small  places  he 
united  all  authority  in  his  own  person.  As  a  rule 
he  received  a  salary.  In  the  smaller  boroughs 

[384] 


APPENDIX 

he  took  all  the  revenues  without  rendering  an 
account.  At  other  times  fixed  sums  were  paid 
him,  to  which  tolls  were  added,  which  were  "col- 
lected exclusively  in  his  name  and  on  his  behalf." 
"He  is  generally  expected  to  exercise  hospitality 
toward  the  other  members  of  the  corporation, 
and  distinguished  visitors  of  the  town;  and  on 
the  whole  it  is  probable  that  more  is  expected  in 
this  manner  than  is  realized  from  the  ordinary 
emoluments  of  the  office."  Sometimes  the  mayor 
received  no  remuneration. 

The  recorder  was  sometimes  called  a  steward. 
When  not  appointed  by  the  charter  as  was  gen- 
erally the  case,  he  was  elected  by  the  common 
council,  aldermen  or  burgesses.  Occasionally  the 
consent  of  the  crown  was  necessary  to  his  elec- 
tion. The  charters  provided  that  he  should  be 
learned  in  the  law.  "This  condition  is  some- 
times considered  to  be  complied  with  by  electing 
a  peer  of  the  realm,  who  being  a  judge  by  the 
constitution  of  parliament,  has  been  held  to  come 
within  that  technical  description."  But  often 
even  in  spite  of  this  he  is  neither  a  peer  nor 
learned  in  the  law.  The  office  was  sometimes 
filled  by  a  patron  who  elected  a  deputy.  The 
recorder  held  office  during  good  behavior.  He 
was  the  principal  legal  adviser  of  the  corporation 
and  held  incidental  magisterial  and  judicial  of- 
fices in  addition  to  his  duties  as  recorder.  Resi- 
dence was  not  required.  When  a  deputy  was 

[385  ] 


MODERN    CITIES 

employed  he  was  usually  a  barrister  or  a  town 
clerk. 

The  sheriff  being  a  county  officer  was  only 
found  in  boroughs  which  were  counties.  The 
term  of  office  was  one  year.  He  frequently  had 
charge  of  the  jails  and  prisoners.  The  method 
of  his  election  varied,  but  he  was  never  appointed 
by  the  crown. 

Bailiffs  were  chosen  annually  in  a  variety  of 
ways.  Their  functions  varied  in  different  bor- 
oughs. Originally  they  were  receivers  and  man- 
agers for  the  crown  or  other  lord  of  the  borough. 
They  had  nothing  to  do  with  municipal  corpora- 
tions "Until  after  the  property  of  the  soil  became 
vested  in  the  Corporation,  when  the  bailiffs 
also  became  corporate  officers.  In  Bedford 
and  Southampton,  they  were  returning  officers 
jointly  with  the  mayor,  and  were  so  formally  at 
Cambridge.  They  often  have  the  custody  of 
the  gaol."  In  some  boroughs  they  perform  the 
duties  of  sheriff.  Sometimes  the  office  was  mere- 
ly nominal. 

The  coroner  was  generally  elected  by  the  com- 
mon council.  In  York  he  was  elected  by  the  free- 
holders. His  duties  and  emoluments  were  simi- 
lar to  those  of  the  county  coroner.  No  medical 
knowledge  was  required.  Often  the  mayor  was 
coroner  ex-officio;  and  sometimes  the  office  was 
filled  by  the  bailiff  or  town  clerk. 

The  town  clerk  was  usually  elected  by  the  com- 

[386] 


APPENDIX 

mon  council  to  hold  office  during  good  behavior. 
The  city  of  Bristol  insisted  that  he  should  be  a 
barrister.  As  a  rule  he  was  an  attorney  and 
acted  as  a  legal  adviser  to  the  corporation  and 
recorded  its  proceedings.  "He  is  generally  re- 
quired to  reside  in  the  borough.  He  is  usually 
clerk  of  the  peace,  clerk  to  the  magistrates,  and 
attorney  and  solicitor  to  the  Corporation."  Fre- 
quently he  was  deputy  to  the  recorder.  He  was 
also  the  registrar  and  principal  officer  of  the 
court  of  record.  He  received  sometimes  a  nom- 
inal remuneration,  but  the  introduction  which 
the  office  afforded  to  law  business  was  deemed 
sufficient  recompense. 

The  chamberlain  or  treasurer  was  chosen  by 
the  common  council  and  was  usually  a  member 
of  it.  The  mayor  sometimes  performed  the  duties 
of  the  office.  As  a  rule  the  chamberlain  was  a 
member  of  the  body  by  which  his  accounts  were 
audited.  He  was  paid  either  by  salary  or  pound- 
age on  the  amount  collected.  "The  chamberlains 
of  London  and  Bristol  are  each  a  corpora- 
tion sole  for  certain  purposes.  The  chamberlain 
of  London  decides  disputes  between  masters 
and  apprentices,  and  has  power  to  order  the  im- 
prisonment of  the  apprentice,  or  to  cancel  the 
indentures.  The  chamberlain  of  Bristol  has  the 
same  powers,  but  they  do  not  appear  to  be  ex- 
ercised." 

The  magistrates  or  justices  of  the  peace  for  the 

[387] 


MODERN    CITIES 

whole  borough  were  often  chosen  by  the  common 
council  and  were  almost  always  members  of  it. 
The  mayor  was  always  the  chief  magistrate.  The 
recorder  was  generally  one  of  the  magistrates. 
In  many  large  cities  all  the  aldermen  were  mag- 
istrates. 

Courts 

Borough  criminal  courts,  as  a  rule,  tried 
all  cases  occurring  within  the  borough.  Many 
of  them  sent  serious  cases  to  the  county  sessions 
or  assizes.  Some  of  them  once  exercised  juris- 
diction over  capital  offences,  but  later  abandoned 
it.  "Salisbury,  Southampton  and  Chichester, 
still  try  capital  offences;  but  when  capital  pun- 
ishment is  expected  to  follow  conviction,  an  ar- 
rangement is  made  to  prevent  a  trial  before  the 
corporate  authorities  solely."  "Several  corpora- 
tions, as  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  Bristol,  Canter- 
bury, Exeter,  Rochester,  still  exercise  their  char- 
tered privilege  of  trying  and  executing  criminals 
for  capital  offences."  At  Bristol,  felonies  com- 
mitted on  a  part  of  the  Bristol  Channel,  are  tri- 
able at  the  ordinary  court  of  Gaol  Delivery,  not 
as  at  a  Court  of  Admiralty,  but  as  committed 
within  the  body  of  the  county." 

The  corporate  magistrates  were  the  sole  judges 
of  the  criminal  courts.  The  juries  were  sum- 
moned from  the  inhabitants  at  large. 

The  civil  courts  usually  tried  only  cases  of 

[388] 


APPENDIX 

debt  where  the  action  did  not  exceed  forty  shill- 
ings. It  was  a  court  of  record,  where  the  mayor 
presided  and  was  sometimes  called  the  mayor's 
court. 

That  prison  reform  was  needed  in  these  bor- 
oughs is  evidenced  from  the  fact  that  "In  many 
boroughs  the  same  gaol  is  used  indiscriminately 
for  criminals,  and  for  the  prisoners  committed 
by  the  court  of  record."  "Sometimes  the  pris- 
oners are  committed  at  once  to  the  county  gaol 
until  trial,  brought  back  for  trial  to  the  borough 
sessions,  and  finally  sent  again  to  the  county  gaol 
to  undergo  the  punishment  adjudged  to  them." 
"Debtors  taken  under  process  from  the  court  of 
record  of  the  borough,  must  remain  in  the  bor- 
ough gaol." 

The  police  supervision  was  very  meager.  In  a 
great  number  of  towns  there  were  no  watchmen 
or  police,  except  unsalaried  constables;  these 
were  sometimes  appointed  by  a  leet  court,  but 
more  frequently  by  the  common  council.  The 
policing,  paving,  lighting  and  watching  were  not 
often  under  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  the  cor- 
poration. And  "In  many  places  where  power 
to  watch  and  light  have  been  obtained,  they  are 
not  put  in  execution."  The  corporations  some- 
times supervised  fairs  and  markets.  Many  of 
them  had  a  Pie  Poudre  Court.  "The  Cinque 
Ports  possess  by  charter  a  singular  power,  now 
disused,  of  appointing  bailiffs  who  jointly  with 

[389] 


MODERN    CITIES 

the  bailiff  of  Yarmouth  in  Norfolk,  are  entitled 
to  exercise  jurisdiction  at  the  fair  of  Yarmouth, 
similar  to  that  of  Pie  Poudre." 

The  management  of  the  poor  might  be  vested 
either  in  the  corporation  or  in  a  distinct  body. 

A  unique  condition  developed  in  many  bor- 
oughs from  the  fact  that  suburbs  with  large 
populations  were  found  beyond  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  corporation.  Bristol  had  a  population  of 
59,000  with  a  suburb  of  45,000;  Carlisle  had 
8,356  with  a  suburb  of  10,713;  Hull  had  15,996 
with  a  suburb  of  more  than  20,000,  etc. 

Frequently  there  were  precincts  within  the 
borough  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  corpora- 
tion. 

Many  corporations  extended  their  jurisdiction 
over  adjacent  waters.  The  jurisdiction  of  Roch- 
ester extended  twenty  miles  from  Medway  to 
Sheerness ;  that  of  Bristol  to  Holmes,  twenty-five 
miles  from  town;  that  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne  to 
the  river,  ten  miles  below  the  town  and  seven 
miles  above  it;  that  of  Ipswich  to  a  considerable 
part  of  the  harbor  of  Harwich. 

Property  and  Patronage 

In  many  boroughs  large  revenues  were  re- 
ceived from  lands,  leases,  of  tithes  and  other 
property,  tolls  of  markets  and  fairs,  the  import- 
ing and  exporting  of  merchandise,  quay  and  an- 
chorage dues,  the  admission  of  officers  and  bur- 

[390] 


APPENDIX 

gesses  and  from  fines  imposed  upon  those  who 
refused  to  serve  after  they  had  been  appointed 
to  office.  Sometimes  these  funds  were  ample  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  the  borough ;  when  they  were 
insufficient  "A  rate  is  levied  on  the  inhabitants, 
in  the  nature  of  a  county  rate."  Before  the  re- 
form act  of  1832  the  expenses  were  frequently 
paid  by  a  patron  or  a  member  of  the  corpora- 
tion. It  frequently  happened,  however,  that  the 
revenue  was  very  inadequate  for  municipal  pur- 
poses. 

Some  boroughs  owned  extensive  commons,  the 
benefits  of  which  were  shared  by  the  freemen. 
"At  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  where  the  affairs  are 
managed  by  the  whole  body  of  burgesses,  the 
value  of  the  lands  of  which  the  profits  are  taken 
by  the  freemen,  is  near  £6,000  per  annum." 
Some  corporations  held  estates  responsible  for 
the  repair  of  bridges  and  other  works ;  some  had 
funds  for  specific  purposes. 

Most  of  the  revenues  of  corporations  were  con- 
sumed in  the  entertainment  of  the  members  of 
the  common  council  and  their  friends. 

The  debts  of  the  corporations  were  extremely 
large  and  some  of  them  were  insolvent.  "In  some 
places  no  accounts  are  kept,  in  others  they  are 
kept  in  a  very  imperfect  manner;  in  very  few  is 
there  regular  and  efficient  audit,  and  in  still  fewer 
any  publication  of  the  accounts." 

"The  corporations  frequently  possess  patron- 
[391] 


MODERN    CITIES 

age,  both  ecclesiastical  and  lay.  They  present  to 
livings,  appoint  lecturers,  masters  of  schools  and 
hospitals,  and  have  the  power  of  selecting  the 
objects  of  various  charities.  The  patronage  is 
sometimes  exercised  by  the  governing  bodies, 
sometimes  by  particular  officers." 

Defects 

The  foregoing  is  a  fairly  accurate  picture  of 
the  corporate  management  of  the  English  and 
Welsh  cities  previous  to  the  municipal  reform  act 
of  1835.  The  commissioners  appointed  by  the 
crown  had  not  only  the  enormous  task  of  describ- 
ing the  constitutions  and  customs  of  these  munici- 
pal corporations  and  taking  note  of  the  endless 
differences  of  local  conditions  but  also  of  pointing 
out  the  defects  of  administration,  summarizing 
the  grievances  of  the  inhabitants  and  of  suggest- 
ing the  path  which  legislation  should  follow 
respecting  them. 

The  most  glaring  defect  which  they  discov- 
ered was  that  these  corporations  existed  inde- 
pendent of  the  communities  in  which  they  were 
found.  They  considered  themselves  exclusive 
bodies;  how  absurd  to  think  that  any  dweller  in 
the  municipality  had  anything  to  say  or  do  about 
the  way  in  which  the  community  should  be  gov- 
erned j  ust  because  he  happened  to  live  there.  The 
corporations  had  privileges  and  powers  within 
the  borough,  but  in  no  sense  did  they  con- 

[392] 


APPENDIX 

sider  their  interest  and  those  of  the  community 
identical. 

The  number  of  freemen  in  the  borough  was 
greatly  out  of  proportion  to  the  population.  In 
Norwich  the  majority  of  the  householders  and 
ratepayers  were  excluded  from  the  corporate 
body,  "While  paupers,  lodgers  and  others,  pay- 
ing neither  rates  nor  taxes,  are  admitted  to  the 
exercise  of  the  functions  of  freemen,  and  form 
considerable  portion  of  the  corporation."  In 
Plymouth,  with  a  population  including  Daven- 
port, of  75,000,  the  freemen  numbered  437,  of 
which  145  were  non-resident.  In  Ipswich,  with 
20,000  population,  there  were  about  363  free- 
men. One-third  of  these  were  not  rated.  About 
eleven- twelfths  of  all  the  property  assessed  in 
the  borough  belonged  to  those  excluded  from  the 
corporation.  In  sixteen  boroughs  with  a  popu- 
lation of  659,431  the  number  of  freemen  was 
34,697.  The  unique  advantage  possessed  by  the 
small  number  of  freemen  admitted  "Exposes 
them  to  bribery  and  undue  influence,  and  advan- 
tage is  taken  of  that  condition  to  establish  the 
most  demoralizing  practices.'* 

The  privilege  of  electing  members  of  parlia- 
ment "And  the  rewards  for  political  services, 
which  are  brought  within  the  reach  of  ruling  cor- 
porations, have  caused  this  function  to  be  con- 
sidered in  many  places  as  the  sole  object  of  their 
institution."  The  custom  of  limiting  the  mem- 

[393] 


MODERN    CITIES 

bership  in  the  corporation  and  especially  the  habit 
of  electing  dependents  and  other  servile  creatures 
made  the  body  of  freemen  wieldy  for  political 
purposes.  Many  corporations  were  only  pre- 
served as  political  conveniences  for  controlling 
elections  to  parliament.  "To  maintain  the  politi- 
cal ascendency  of  a  party,  or  the  political  in- 
fluence of  a  family  has  been  the  one  end  and 
object  for  which  the  powers  entrusted  to  a  nu- 
merous class  of  these  bodies  have  been  exercised." 
The  most  venal  abuses  thus  arose.  The  failure 
to  admit  freemen,  the  selection  of  the  common 
council  and  magistracy,  the  appointment  of  sub- 
ordinate municipal  officers  and  the  borough 
police,  the  administration  of  charity,  the  expendi- 
ture of  revenues  and  the  management  of  corpo- 
rate property  were  made  subservient  to  political 
ascendency.  "The  commissioners  have  gener- 
ally found  that  those  corporations  which  have 
not  possessed  the  Parliamentary  Franchise,  have 
most  faithfully  discharged  the  duties  of  town 
government,  and  have  acquired,  more  than 
others,  the  confidence  and  goodwill  of  the  com- 
munities to  which  they  belong." 

The  number  of  freemen  was  always  appre- 
ciably augmented  as  the  parliamentary  elections 
approached.  The  motive  for  this  is  apparent. 
The  governing  body  could  in  this  way  insure 
unmistakably  the  results.  A  table  was  prepared 
from  a  parliamentary  return,  ordered  to  be  print- 

[394] 


APPENDIX 

ed  3  February,  1832,  showing  the  number  of 
freemen  admitted  annually  in  128  cities  be- 
tween the  years  1800-1831.  There  was  an  ap- 
preciable increase  in  the  number  of  freemen 
during  the  years  of  the  general  election,  that  is 
to  say,  1802,  1806,  1807,  1812,  1818,  1820,  1826, 
1830  and  1831.  The  number  of  freemen  ad- 
mitted in  the  boroughs  since  the  passing  of  the 
Reform  Act  of  1832  has  fallen  off  very  consid- 
erably. "Parliamentary  influence  being  the 
principal  object  for  which  freemen  are  created, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  the  franchise  should  be 
sought  most  eagerly  by  those  who  wished  to 
make  it  subservient  to  their  own  advantage.  The 
most  extensive  bribery  of  the  freemen  systemati- 
cally prevails  at  Liverpool,  Barnstaple,  East 
Retford,  &c."  The  election  of  municipal  offi- 
cers was  accompanied  by  similar  corruption  and 
resulted  not  only  in  the  election  of  the  least 
capable  but  also  of  the  most  venal  municipal  offi- 
cials. For  all  these  reasons  the  commissioners 
had  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  the  limitation  of 
conferring  freedom  to  the  power  of  municipal 
corporations  was  an  unmixed  evil. 

The  fact  that  the  governing  body  was  self- 
elected  was  a  grave  defect.  This  confined  the 
election  of  a  member  to  fill  the  vacancy  to  a  par- 
ticular political  party.  "Their  proceedings  are 
mainly  directed  to  secure  and  perpetuate  the 
ascendency  of  the  party  to  which  they  belong." 

[395] 


MODERN    CITIES 

Those  of  adverse  political  opinion  were  excluded. 
Bad  government  was  the  only  possible  result 
from  such  a  method.  London  formed  a  conspicu- 
ous exception  to  the  self-elected  bodies  and 
therefore  to  those  suffering  from  the  evil  con- 
sequences which  followed.  All  the  other  bor- 
oughs of  England  and  Wales  were  close  cor- 
porations ;  their  proceedings  were  secret.  No  in- 
formation could  be  obtained  from  them  except 
"Through  the  troublesome  and  expensive  process 
of  mandamus  or  quo  warranto."  By-laws,  either 
enacted  or  repealed,  were  never  published;  the 
inhabitants  were  kept  in  entire  ignorance  of 
them. 

It  was  certainly  a  vice  "That  officers  chosen 
for  particular  functions  are  regarded  as  a  neces- 
sary part  of  the  legislative  body."  This  practise 
was  the  relic  of  a  time  when  the  separation  of 
constitutional  authorities  was  not  so  clearly  un- 
derstood, that  is  to  say,  the  separation  of  the 
legislative,  judicial  and  executive  functions  of 
government.  Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  through- 
out these  municipalities  magistrates  would  be- 
come involved  in  politics,  magistrates  became 
mayors,  mayors  became  coroners,  mayors  became 
treasurers  even  when  the  auditing  and  examina- 
tion of  their  accounts  was  placed  in  the  body  over 
which  they  presided.  Several  persons  would 
sometimes  fill  the  same  office.  In  some  boroughs 
the  duties  of  the  mayor  had  been  entirely  neg- 

[396] 


APPENDIX 

lected.  The  choosing  of  unprofessional  persons 
to  fill  the  legal  office  of  recorder  was  a  very  grave 
defect.  The  duties  of  the  office  were  frequently 
neglected.  "The  Recorder  of  Lancaster  did  not 
attend  the  Quarter  Sessions  once  between  1810 
and  1832.  In  1832  the  grand  jury  of  the  bor- 
ough presented  that  it  was  expedient  he  should 
attend.  After  attending  once,  in  consequence 
of  this  presentment,  and  a  subsequent  order  of 
the  council,  he  excused  himself  on  several 
grounds,  among  which  were  these,  that  his  other 
duties  were  very  important,  that  he  was  careful 
of  the  interests  of  the  corporation,  though  ab- 
sent, and  recorders  did  not  usually  reside  except 
for  political  purposes.  Upon  this,  the  corpora- 
tion voted  their  thanks  to  him  for  his  attention 
to  their  interests." 

Two  instances  were  cited  to  show  the  treat- 
ment of  offices  for  purposes  of  patronage.  At 
Winchester  there  were  two  candidates  for  an  of- 
fice. One  of  them  only  was  a  member  of  the 
corporation.  The  common  council  elected  both 
to  fill  the  office,  allowing  them  to  share  the  emolu- 
ments and  suggesting  that  the  one  who  was  a 
member  of  the  corporation  should  do  the  busi- 
ness. At  Boston,  an  alderman  and  justice  of 
the  peace,  together  with  two  of  his  brothers,  sup- 
ported a  candidate  on  condition  that  they  should 
receive  a  yearly  allowance  from  the  profits  of 
the  office. 

[397] 


MODERN    CITIES 

Many  officers  were  elected  who  had  no  duties 
to  perform,  received  no  fees  or  salaries  and  yet 
they  were  elected  annually  and  regularly  and 
took  the  oath  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  office 
to  which  they  had  been  elected. 

Criminal  jurisdiction  was  found  extremely  de- 
fective. In  Bath,  with  a  population  of  50,000, 
no  felonies  could  be  tried;  such  cases  had  to  be 
tried  in  places  from  eighteen  to  fifty  miles  away. 
In  Winchelsea,  with  a  population  of  772  and  in 
Dunwich  with  a  population  of  232,  criminal 
jurisdiction  extended  even  to  capital  offenses. 
Many  corporations  had  allowed  their  jurisdiction 
to  become  useless  because  of  the  unwillingness  of 
the  magistracy  to  undertake  the  responsibility. 

The  magistrates  were  partisan  in  politics. 
"The  magistrates  are  usually  chosen  from  the 
aldermen,  and  the  aldermen  are  generally  politi- 
cal partisans."  The  inhabitants  naturally  lost  all 
confidence  in  the  magistrates  and  therefore  they 
were  under  the  suspicion  of  the  people  even  when 
they  rendered  justice. 

The  magistrates  were  often  chosen  from  rather 
a  low  type  of  individual.  They  conversed  famil- 
iarly with  the  culprits,  and  sometimes  fought  with 
the  prisoners.  At  Malmesbury  it  frequently  oc- 
curred that  the  magistrates  could  not  read  or 
write.  Often  they  were  too  old  to  attend  to  their 
duties  properly  even  when  competent.  They 
were  frequently  not  residents  of  the  borough, 

[398] 


APPENDIX 

^  Juries  were  ignorant  and  partisan.    In  Haver- 
ford  West  it  was  impossible  to  convict  a  burgess. 

The  town  clerk  frequently  acted  as  judge  and 
prosecutor;  also  as  deputy  recorder.  "He  is 
often  practically  the  principal  attorney  for  the 
prosecution  of  offenders  tried  at  the  borough 
sessions,  whose  commitment  he  had  previously 
advised  in  his  character  of  clerk  to  the  mag- 
istrate." 

The  condition  of  civil  jurisdiction  was  not  a 
whit  better. 

The  expenses  of  suits  were  very  considerable 
and  at  the  discretion  of  the  town  clerk.  They 
were  entirely  out  of  proportion  to  the  services 
rendered. 

Incompetent  judges,  possessing  unlimited 
power  of  imprisonment,  became  promoters  of  un- 
civilized oppression. 

In  the  jails  there  was  an  improper  classifica- 
tion of  prisoners.  In  many  of  the  smaller  bor- 
oughs they  were  unfit  for  human  beings.  "In 
these  places  the  prisoners  are  often  without  a 
proper  supply  of  air  and  light:  frequently  the 
jails  are  mere  dungeons  under  the  town-hall. 
In  such  receptacles  it  is  impossible  to  put  a  pris- 
oner to  work,  or  to  separate  the  criminals  and  the 
debtors." 

Police  supervision  was  generally  inadequate. 
The  inhabitants  were  empowered  under  local  acts 
to  have  commissions  appointed  to  attend  to  spe- 

[399] 


MODERN    CITIES 

cific  administrative  affairs  in  the  boroughs.  They 
availed  themselves  of  this  right  when  the  cor- 
porations failed  to  render  the  necessary  public 
service.  But  the  multiplicity  of  commissions 
within  the  same  borough  created  much  confusion. 
There  was  invariably  a  clash  of  interest ;  for  each 
commission  appointed  by  the  application  of  the 
inhabitants  voiced  their  apathy.  When  there 
were,  as  sometimes  occurred,  two  police  commis- 
sions there  was  much  jealousy  between  the  offi- 
cers of  police  acting  under  the  corporation  and 
those  acting  under  the  commission. 

"In  some  instances,  the  separate  and  conflict- 
ing authority  of  the  commissioners  is  avowedly 
used  as  a  check  and  counterbalance  to  the  politi- 
cal influences  of  the  corporation.  At  Leeds,  no 
persons  are  elected  Commissioners  of  Police 
whose  political  principles  are  not  opposed  to  the 
Corporation." 

At  Winchester  the  watching  of  the  town  was 
paid  for  by  local  subscription. 

The  danger  of  having  precincts  in  the  bor- 
ough outside  the  jurisdiction  of  the  corporation 
became  apparent  in  the  fact  that  they  served  as 
places  of  refuge  for  criminals  just  as  formerly 
churches  gave  the  right  of  sanctuary. 

The  discrimination  made  between  freemen  and 
inhabitants  became  onerous,  especially  since  free- 
dom was  not  dependent  upon  the  political  quali- 
fications or  volition  of  the  latter.  In  the  large 

[400] 


APPENDIX 

towns  the  exemption  of  freemen  from  tolls  was 
a  great  boon  to  them,  but  the  consequent  larger 
burden  of  the  non-freeman  became  unjust. 

The  imposition  of  fines  for  refusal  to  serve 
the  corporation  when  exacted  to  increase  the 
revenues  of  the  borough  was  made  a  cause  of 
complaint. 

Everywhere  without  exception  the  commis- 
sioners listened  to  complaints  stating  that  the 
market  and  fair  tolls  and  town  dues  were  not 
applied  to  the  good  of  the  town. 

The  following  list  of  positive  evils  were  also 
noted : 

1.  The  letting  of  land  by  the  corporations  by 
private  contract  to  members  of  its  own  body  in 
consideration  of  a  rent  and  fines  wholly  dispro- 
portionate to  the  value  and  frequently  for  long 
terms  of  years. 

2.  Many  corporations  alienated  in  fee  much  of 
their  property  for  inadequate  considerations. 

3.  Carelessness  and  extravagance  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  municipal  funds. 

4.  The   exclusive    distribution   of   patronage 
among  friends  and  partisans. 

5.  Large  sums  of  money  were  spent  in  bribery 
and  other  illegal  practises.    "During  the  election 
of  1826,  the  Corporation  of  Leicester  expended 
ten  thousand  pounds  to  secure  the  success  of  a 
political  partisan,  and  mortgaged  some  of  their 
property  to  discharge  some  of  the  liabilities  in- 

[401] 


MODERN    CITIES 

curred.  In  Barnstaple  and  Liverpool  the  funds 
of  the  corporation  have  been  wasted  in  defending 
from  threatened  disfranchisement  a  body  of  free- 
men, who  had  been  proved  guilty  of  bribery." 

6.  In  general,  corporate  funds  were  but  par- 
tially applied  to  municipal  purposes.     A  great 
share  of  them  were  devoted  to  feasting  and  to 
pay  the  salaries  of  unimportant  officers. 

7.  There  was  much  "graft"  in  the  contracts 
let  to  members  of  the  common  council,  their 
friends  and  relations. 

8.  When  some  corporations  spent  money  for 
the  municipality  they  considered  it  a  gracious  and 
condescending  benefaction ;  even  then  it  was  par- 
tisan. 

9.  The  transition  from  the  view  that  the  cor- 
poration was  for  the  benefit  of  the  corporators 
to  the  view  that  they  should  exist  for  the  sake 
of  private  individuals  was  very  easy.    These  atti- 
tudes, in  fact,  were  assumed  both  in  the  secrecy 
surrounding   the   transactions   of  the   corpora- 
tions and  in  the  alienation  of  their  property  to 
individuals. 

10.  Salaries  were  for  the  most  part  not  com- 
mensurate to  the  duties  to  be  performed.     The 
almost  necessary  evil  followed.     Mayors  were 
frequently  paid  large  salaries  to  enable  them  to 
entertain  lavishly.    They  served  dinners  periodi- 
cally.    Sometimes  large  salaries  were  paid  in- 
competent persons.    The  commissioners  thought 

[402] 


APPENDIX 

much  of  this  could  be  remedied  by  publicity  of 
accounts. 

11.  There  were  all  sorts  of  financial  irregu- 
larities respecting  funds  for  specific  purposes, 
tolls  and  dues;  there  were  misappropriations  of 
charity  funds  and  property ;  patronage  was  used 
for  political  purposes.  "At  Norwich,  the  patron- 
age of  the  hospitals,  which  is  vested  in  the  alder- 
men, has  been  avowedly  exercised  in  favor  of 
their  own  party."  This  happened  also  at  Leices- 
ter, Coventry  and  Northampton.  When  schools 
were  under  the  management  of  corporations 
there  was  also  a  misappropriation  of  funds.  At 
Coventry  the  funds  of  the  school  amounted  to 
£900  per  annum;  the  two  masters  divided  about 
£700  between  them,  despite  the  fact  that  they 
only  had  one  pupil  during  the  year  1833  and  one 
for  each  of  the  two  previous  years.  "The  perver- 
sion of  municipal  institutions  to  political  ends 
has  occasioned  the  sacrifice  of  local  interests  to 
party  purposes,  which  have  been  frequently  pur- 
sued through  the  corruption  and  demoralization 
of  the  electorate  bodies." 

At  Berwick-upon-Tweed  the  corporation  bor- 
rowed money  to  be  divided  among  its  own 
members. 

Most  of  the  debts  of  the  corporations  up  to 
the  time  the  commissioners  made  their  report 
were  contracted  as  the  result  of  misapplication 
of  public  money. 

[403] 


MODERN    CITIES 

This,  then,  was  the  main  outline  of  the  condi- 
tion of  municipal  affairs  in  the  English  and 
Welsh  cities  found  by  John  Blackburne  and 
fifteen  others — commissioners  of  his  majesty, 
William  IV.  They  supported  their  statements 
by  a  very  voluminous  body  of  facts.  This  also 
was  practically  the  condition  of  affairs  in  these 
cities  when  the  United  States  became  a  sovereign 
power  and  the  municipal  problem  became  its 
own ;  and  this  was  the  state  of  things  when  there 
was  such  a  multiplicity  of  charters  in  the  United 
States  after  the  Revolution.  This  was  our  mu- 
nicipal heritage.  But  Great  Britain  emancipated 
itself  from  it  through  the  municipal  act  of  1835; 
our  deliverance  has  but  begun. 

From  the  foregoing  discussion  it  is  clearly  es- 
tablished that  the  elements  of  municipal  corrup- 
tion in  the  United  States  appeared  in  the  British 
municipalities  during  the  period  anterior  to  the 
year  1835.  There  are  some  modern  forms  of 
corruption,  to  be  sure,  which  we  fail  to  find  men- 
tioned by  the  commissioners.  But  this  was  sim- 
ply because  many  of  our  present-day  municipal 
enterprises  did  not  exist.  Had  they  existed  there 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  machinery  of  cor- 
ruption in  vogue  wrould  have  been  applied  to 
them.  For  if  we  try  to  define  municipal  cor- 
ruption we  shall  find  it  is  none  other  than  the 
use  of  public  office  for  the  furtherance  of  in- 
dividual welfare.  The  particulars  are  many,  such 

[404] 


APPENDIX 

as  the  individual  appropriation  of  public  moneys, 
the  extortion  of  money  from  the  violators  of  the 
law  in  consideration  of  the  protection  afforded 
them,  the  acceptance  or  payment  of  money  for 
votes,  the  bribery  of  juries,  judges,  common 
councils  and  mayors,  etc.,  but  it  all  amounts  to 
the  substitution  of  private  advantage  for  the 
public  good.  The  managers  of  pre-reform  Brit- 
ish municipalities  exemplified  this  principle  in  its 
most  extreme  forms. 

There  are  two  conspicuous  forms  of  corrup- 
tion which  do  not  appear  in  the  report,  that  is  to 
say,  the  open  and  extensive  alliance  with  vice 
and  crime  known  in  the  United  States  and  also 
the  manipulation  of  city  legislation  in  the  inter- 
ests of  public  service  corporations.  The  first 
omission  can  be  explained  from  the  fact  that 
although  the  movement  toward  centers  of  popu- 
lation set  in  with  the  great  industrial  age  imme- 
diately after  the  French  Revolution  it  had  not 
attained  to  such  proportions  as  to  make  vice  and 
crime  in  its  alliance  with  municipal  corporations 
a  temptation.  A  similar  observation  may  be 
made  with  regard  to  corruption  arising  from 
privileges  and  franchises  granted  to  public  service 
corporations.  The  using  of  streets  for  horse- 
cars  and  trolleys,  the  use  of  illuminating  gas  and 
electricity  by  municipalities,  etc.,  had  not  been 
attempted  at  this  time.  And  even  for  forms  of 
public  service  then  in  existence,  such  as  water 

[405  ] 


MODERN    CITIES 

supply,  there  was  a  greater  tendency  toward 
municipal  ownership  in  the  British  city  than  we 
have  known  in  the  cities  of  the  United  States. 
This,  as  we  know,  was  due  to  the  difference  in 
the  attitude  of  the  respective  countries  toward 
the  fundamental  relations  existing  between  the 
municipality  and  the  state.  In  the  United  States 
the  city  can  do  only  those  things  which  are  ex- 
pressly permitted  by  the  provisions  of  the  state 
law ;  in  Great  Britain  a  city  may  do  anything  and 
everything  not  forbidden  by  the  law  of  the  realm 
— a  most  significant  difference. 

For  all  these  reasons  it  does  not  appear  that 
the  British  city  previous  to  the  year  1835  could 
claim  any  superiority  from  either  the  view-point 
of  efficiency  or  ethical  attitude  over  the  worst 
forms  of  corruption  in  our  cities  before  or  after 
that  date.  And  forsooth,  the  corrupt  American 
city  is  a  splendid  example  of  the  inheritance  of 
acquired  municipal  corruption  from  its  British 
forebear.  We  can  not  and  do  not  exonerate  our- 
selves on  this  score;  but  one  naturally  wonders 
what  would  have  happened  if  the  American  Rev- 
olution had  occurred  in  1850  instead  of  in  1776! 
Would  not  the  Municipal  Corporations  Reform 
Act,  passed  by  the  British  parliament  on  Sep- 
tember 9,  1835,  have  turned  us  away  from  the 
most  extensive  forms  of  municipal  corruption  the 
world  has  ever  seen?  Be  this  as  it  may,  that  act 
was  one  of  the  best  pieces  of  legislation  which  it 

[406] 


APPENDIX 

has  ever  been  the  good  fortune  of  Anglo-Saxon 
legislatures  to  enact.  It  cast  out  municipal  mis- 
government  forever  from  the  British  Isles  and 
laid  the  foundations  there  of  some  of  the  most 
splendid  and  efficient  municipalities  in  the  whole 
world.  And  both  the  act  and  its  consequences 
will  help  us  the  better  to  solve  our  municipal 
problems,  for  solve  them  we  certainly  shall. 


[407] 


INDEX 


ADMINISTRATION     by     a     close 

corporation,  167-176. 
Administrative  control  of  cities 

in   England,   214;   in   France 

and  Germany,  215. 
Advantages       of       commission 

form,  192. 
Advertising    in    public    streets, 

77. 
Age,  effect  of,  on  death-rate  of 

city,  155. 

Air,  influence  of,  on  health,  363 
Albany,     filtration     plant     of, 

158. 

Alcohol,    effect    of,    on    death- 
rate,  163. 

Aldermen,  choice  of,  174. 
Altona,  302. 

American  Civic  Association,  2. 
American  municipal  misgov- 

ernment   as   a   heritage,   377- 

407. 

Ancient  cities,  planning  of,  17. 
Animals  in  cities,  145. 
Antitoxin  in  diphtheria,   149. 
Appian  Way  in  Rome,  295. 
Arcades,  72. 

Arc  de  Triomphe,  29,  38,  88. 
Arch,  the  triumphal,  87;  of 

Severus,  88. 

Architecture,  regulation  of,  9. 
Arco  della  Pace  in  Milan,  88. 
Art,  civic,  84;  value  of,  in 

cities,  84-96. 
Arterial  centers,  30. 
Athens  of  Pericles,  the,  85. 
Automobiles,  effect  of,  on  city 

life,  6. 
Autonomous  harbor  board,  the, 

in  the  Port  of  Genoa,  116. 
Avenue  de  la  Grande  Armde  in 

Paris,  36,  81. 

[409] 


Avenue  du  Bois  de  Boulogne 
in  Paris,  8-2. 

BACTERIA,  147,  148;  pathogenic, 
153. 

Bahnhofstrasse  in  Zurich,  92. 

Bank  of  San  Giorgio,  118. 

Beauty,  demand  for,  9 ;  in  city 
planning,  16. 

Belgian  block  pavements,  69. 

Berlin,  6;  death-rate  in,  128; 
history  of,  with  respect  to 
mortality,  133;  housing  in, 
45;  regulation  of  height  of 
buildings  in,  71 ;  street  ad- 
vertising in,  78;  table  show- 
ing death-rates  in,  1721- 
1909,  134;  table  showing 
death-rates  of  children  in, 
1882-1907,  135. 

Berne,  37;  arcades  in,  72; 
Dalmazi  Briicke,  74. 

Billboards,  77,  78. 

Biological  discoveries,  influ- 
ence of,  on  the  city,  7. 

Birth  ol  commission  form  of 
administration,  181. 

Bismarckstrasse,  80. 

Bologna,  arcades  in,  72. 

"Boss,"  the,  178. 

Boss  rule  and  the  patronage 
system  in  smaller  cities,  220. 

Boston,  effect  of  merit  system 
in,  219. 

Brandenburger  Tor  in  Berlin, 
89. 

Bribery,  227. 

Bridges,  73,  74. 

British  cities,  death-rate  in, 
129. 

British  method  of  administra- 
tive control,  214. 


INDEX 


Budapest,  housing  in,  46,  47. 
Buildings,  height  of,  70,  71. 
Bunyan,  John,  296. 
Buttstedt,  19. 


CALIFORNIA,  home  rule  pro- 
visions in,  201-204. 

Campaign  contributions,  227. 

Candelabra,  the,  of  Paris,  76. 

Care,  modern,  of  dependents, 
365. 

Carnegie,  Andrew,  on  poverty, 
373. 

Catholic,  the  progressive,  303. 

Catholic  clubs,  256. 

Causes  of  the  modern  city 
movement,  2-17. 

Cavour,  statue  of,  in  Milan,  89. 

Centers,  squares  and  places,  23. 

Central  Continuation  School  in 
Munich,  278. 

Changes,  in  cities,  142-147;  in 
city  life,  1. 

Charter,  influence  of  the,  on 
efficiency  in  municipal  ad- 
ministration, 166;  early  ones, 
378. 

Chicago  billboard  ordinance, 
77. 

Chicago,  prostitution  in,  320, 
330. 

Children,  death-rate  of,  in  Ber- 
lin, 135. 

Children's  houses,  260,  261. 

Cholera,  149;  elimination  of, 
152. 

Church  and  prostitution,  339 ; 
social  work  of,  308. 

Cincinnati,  death-rate  in,  161. 

Cities,  changes  in,  142-147; 
medieval,  19 ;  neglect  of,  296 ; 
operation  of  merit  system  in 
third-class,  219. 

City  and  state,  relations  of, 
213;  effect  of  a  large  city  in 
a  state,  213-214;  health  of, 
142;  in  the  future,  376. 

City  planning,  15-38;  Camillo 
Sitte's  theory  of,  26;  com- 
pared with  home  planning, 
41;  definition  of,  15;  during 
the  Renaissance,  19 ;  in  Amer- 


ica, 27;  influence  of,  on  the 
city,  9;  informal,  26;  purpose 
of,  15. 

City  states  of  Italy  and  Ger- 
many, 213. 

City  streets  and  some  splendid 
types,  6G-83. 

City  walls  in  ancient  and  me- 
dieval cities,  42. 

City's  supremacy  in  education, 
the,  250. 

Citizen,  training  of  the,  311. 

Civic  center,  the  modern,  28. 

Civic  League  of  St.  Louis,  re- 
port on  home-rule  charter 
provisions,  200. 

Civilization,  death-rate  an  in- 
dex of,  128,  112. 

Civil  service  commissions,  218; 
under  Des  Moines  plan,  187. 

Classification  of  dependents, 
defectives,  and  delinquents, 
365. 

Cleanliness  of  the  modern  city, 
143. 

Cleveland,  death-rate  in,  161. 

Climatic  conditions,  effect  of,  on 
the  death-rate  of  a  city,  155. 

Colorado,  home-rule  provisions 
in,  205. 

Columbus  statue  in  Genoa,  the, 
90. 

Commercial  movements  of  the 
port  of  Genoa,  121-123. 

Commission  form  of  adminis- 
tration, the,  181-193;  demo- 
cratic, 190. 

Competition  as  a  means  of  con- 
trolling public  service  corpo- 
rations, 231-232. 

Compulsory  education,  254. 

Concrete  sidewalks,  72. 

Conditions  and  methods  of  so- 
cial progress,  348-376. 

Conservation  of  human  life, 
128-165. 

Consorzio,  the,  116,  117. 

Construction  work  in  housing 
reform,  47-62. 

Continuation  schools  in  Mu- 
nich, 270-271. 

Control  of  harbors  by  muni- 
cipalities, 111. 


[410] 


INDEX 


Cooperation,  influence  of,  on  the 
city,  1 1 ;  lacking  in  American 
cities,  248;  the  keynote  of 
modern  economics,  375. 

Corporate  body  of  early  Brit- 
ish municipalities,  380. 

Corporate  officers  of  early 
British  municipalities,  384. 

Corporation  control  of  cities, 
225. 

Correspondence  schools,  256. 

Corruption  in  early  British 
municipalities,  393-104. 

Corruption  of  municipalities 
by  public  service  corpora- 
tions, 228. 

Cottage,  the  detached,  62. 

Council,  the,  in  early  British 
municipalities,  382,  383;  in 
the  federal  form  of  adminis- 
tration, 177;  powers  of,  175; 
under  commission  form  of 
administration,  186. 

Councilors,  methods  of  choos- 
ing, 174. 

Courts  in  early  British  muni- 
cipalities, 388. 

Cowper,  William,  298,  299. 

Criminals,  modern  care  of,  369. 


DANTE,  statue  of,  in  Florence, 
90. 

Death-rate,  causes  of  the,  153- 
164;  crude,  164;  decline  of, 
128-131 ;  from  pulmonary  tu- 
berculosis, 138;  from  typhoid 
fever,  138. 

Death-rates  in  city  and  coun- 
try compared,  137;  in  Ger- 
man cities,  128,  129;  in  Mu- 
nich, according  to  age- 
groups,  table  showing,  132; 
in  Munich,  due  to  principal 
diseases,  table  showing,  140- 
141 ;  of  children  in  Berlin, 
135;  of  European  countries, 
1891  and  1908,  136;  table 
showing  decline  of,  in  leading 
cities,  129. 

Decision  of  Judge  Cooley, 
197-199;  of  Justice  Shaw, 
203-20-1. 


Defects  of  early  British  mu- 
nicipalities, 392. 

Delinquents,  modern  care  of, 
368. 

Demand  for  beauty,  influence 
of,  on  the  city,  9. 

Demari,  Ansaldo,   113. 

Department  of  Child  Hygiene 
of  the  Russell  Sage  Founda- 
tion, 277. 

Dependents,  modern  care  of, 
365. 

Deschamps,  M.,  Conservateur 
du  Plan  de  Paris,  23,  29. 

Desire  for  outdoor  life,  influ- 
ence of,  on  the  city,  8. 

Des  Moines  plan,  the,  184. 

de  St.  Marceaux,  Rene,  94. 

Development  of  the  individual, 
358,  359. 

Diphtheria,  149;  antitoxin,  149. 

Disease,  prevention  of,  and 
spread  of,  150,  151. 

Disposal  of  waste,  144. 

Dougherty,  J.  Hampton, 
pamphlet  on  "The  Struggle 
for  Municipal  Freedom,"  207. 

Dresden,  death-rate  in,  154. 

Duchatlet,  Dr.  Parent,  335. 


EAHLY  CHARTERS,  378. 

Eaton,  Amasa  M.,  on  the  origin 
of  municipal  incorporation  in 
England  and  in  the  United 
States,  197. 

Economic  causes  of  prostitu- 
tion, 318. 

Economic  condition,  effect  of, 
on  death-rate,  161. 

Education,  recent  developments 
in,  250-294;  effects  of  lack 
of,  252;  essentials  of,  231; 
outlook  of,  for  the  future, 
-J.iT ;  the  function  of  the  city, 
250. 

Effect  of  control  of  cities  by 
corporations, 

Efficiency  in  city  planning,  15, 
16. 

Ehrlich's  remedy,  150. 

Elberfeld  system  of  helping  the 
poor,  the",  162,  376. 

Electricity,  a  unifying  force,  4. 

[411] 


INDEX 


Electrolier,  prize  for  the  most 

beautiful,  76. 
Elevated  railways,  5. 
Eliot,  George,  298. 
England  and  Wales,  municipal 

corporations  in,  167. 
Enlightened    city  management, 

10. 

Environment,  358,  359. 
Epidemics,  149. 
Equipment   of     the     port     of 

Genoa,  126. 
Esquires,  Alphonse,  on  Maisons 

de  Tolerance,  334. 
Eugenics,  359. 
European  cities,  death-rate  in, 

129 ;  housing  in,  44,  45. 
Evils    in    the    government    of 

English  cities,  169-172. 
Experts,    method    of    choosing, 

222,  223. 
Exports     from     the     port     of 

Genoa,  121. 


FEDERAL  FORM  OF  MUNICIPAL 
ADMINISTRATION,  176-181. 

Federal  politics  in  municipali- 
ties, 177. 

Federal  service,  effect  of  the 
merit  system  on,  219. 

Festa,  Cesare,  112,  124,  126. 

Fiack,  Dr.,  statistician  of  Mu- 
nich, 131. 

Filtration  of  water,  158. 

Florence,  2;  housing  in,  44;  the 
Ponte  Vecchio,  73,  74;  the 
Via  Dante,  68. 

Food,  146;  pure,  361. 

Forum,  the  Roman,  28. 

Fountains,  95. 

Fournier,  Alfred,  investigation 
by,  of  venereal  diseases  in 
Paris,  336. 

Franchetti,  Senator,  48. 

Franchises  as  a  source  of 
municipal  corruption,  233; 
granting  of,  under  the  Des 
Moines  plan,  187;  regulations 
and  agreements  as  to,  232- 
234. 

Frankfort,  death-rate  in,  128. 

Frederick  the  Great,  102-106. 


Freedom  from  legislative  inter- 
ference, 199. 

French  system  of  dealing  with 
prostitution,  333. 

Froebel,  258. 

GAIN  TO  HUMANITY  IN  LOWER- 
ING DEATH-RATES,  130. 

Galliera,  Duke  of,  115,  116,  127. 

Galveston,  city  of,  181,  182, 
183. 

Gambling  and  other  vices,  ef- 
fect of,  on  the  death-rate,  164. 

Garden  cities,  39,  40;  death- 
rate  in,  154. 

General  laws  for  municipalities, 
206. 

Genoa,  26;  housing  in,  43;  port 
of,  111-127;  streets  in,  67. 

German  cities,  10,  12,  39;  death- 
rate  in,  129. 

Germany,  method  of,  in  select- 
ing mayors,  223;  system  of, 
in  training  mayors,  192 ;  rank 
of,  in  management  of  public 
utilities,  247. 

Glasgow,  housing  reform  in,  59. 

Gonorrhea,  164,  329,  334. 

Gothic  towns,  37. 

Governing  body  of  early  Brit- 
ish municipalities,  382. 

Great  Britain,  effect  of  munici- 
pal legislation  in,  1835,  173. 

Great  White  Plague,  attack  on 
the,  357. 

Greek  architecture,  influence  on 
medieval  city  planning,  19. 

Greek  cities,  17,  28. 

Gross,  Professor,  on  the  sexual 
nature  of  man,  328. 

Group  tenements,  260,  261;  in 
Rome,  49-52. 

HABITS,  effect  of,  on  the  death- 
rate,  163. 

Hall  of  Generals  in  Munich, 
the,  87. 

Hamburg,  302;  effect  of  nitra- 
tion plant  in,  158. 

Hampstead,  39. 

Hanover,  death-rate  in,  128. 

Harbors  and  docks,  value  of, 
110;  control  of,  by  municipal- 


[412] 


INDEX 


ities,  111;  development  of, 
110-130. 

Haussmann,  Baron,  23. 

Height  of  buildings,  the,  70,  71. 

Heraldry,  79. 

Home  planning,  41-65;  defini- 
tion of,  41. 

Home  rule  and  the  federal  sys- 
tem, 180;  for  cities,  194-215; 
in  British  cities,  406. 

Home-rule  amendment  in  Ohio, 
206. 

Home-rule  provisions  in  Cali- 
fornia, 201 ;  in  Colorado,  205 ; 
in  Michigan,  206;  in  Minne- 
sota, 204;  in  Missouri,  199; 
in  New  York,  207-212;  in 
Oklahoma,  205;  in  Oregon, 
205;  in  Washington,  204. 

House  of  Commons,  address  of 
the,  to  William  IV,  168. 

House,  the  two-story  block,  63. 

Housing,  and  the  death-rate,  45, 
46,  59,  159;  bad,  a  cause  of 
prostitution,  322;  problem  of, 
41-65. 

Houses  for  working  people, 
types  of,  62-65. 

Hughes,  Governor  Charles  E., 
on  social  centers,  293. 

Human  life,  conservation  of, 
135,  128-165. 

Hygiene,  in  modern  schools, 
279-283. 

IMPORTS  OF  THE  POET  OF  GENOA, 

121. 
Industrial  and  trade  schools  in 

German   cities,   270. 
Infant  mortality-rates,  the  ef- 
fect of  high,  133. 
Initiative,  188,  189. 
"Interests,"   operations   of   the, 

in  city  elections,  226. 
Inventions,  new,  their  influence 

on  a  city,  3. 
Italian  cities,  26 ;  death-rate  in, 

129. 
Italy,    religious    need    of,    304; 

revolution  of,  in  religion,  303. 

JENNER,  Edward,  149. 
KAHUN,  planning  of,  17. 


Kansas  City,  charter,  200. 
Karlsruhe,  20. 

Kerschensteiner,  Dr.  Georg,  on 
education  for  citizenship,  274. 
Kindergarten,  258,  259. 
Kiosks,  78. 


FAIRE    METHOD  OF   DEAL- 
ING    WITH     PROSTITUTION,     the, 

331-333. 

Law,  effect  of,  166. 
Laws  dealing  with  vice,  323. 
Lecky's  apostrophe  to  the  har- 

lot, 328. 
Legislative  interference  in  New 

York,  207,  208. 
Leipzig,  city  hall  of,  31  ;  death- 

rate  in,  128;   housing  in,  44. 
L'Enfant,    Pierre    Charles,    his 

plan  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  22. 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  statue  of,  in 

Milan,  90. 

Letchworth,  village  of,  39. 
Lighting,  artistic,  76. 
Local     government,     179;     the 

board  in  England,  214,  215. 
Local  self-government  an  inher- 

ent right,  195,  196. 
Loggia  dei  Lanzi,  the,  in  Flor- 

ence, 87. 
Loggie  degli  Uffizi  in  Florence, 

91. 
London,  6;  death-rate  in,  153; 

Wren's  plan  of,  20-22. 
London    County    Council,    con- 

struction   of    tenements    and 

cottages  by,  60. 
Love  for  humanity,  310. 
Ludwigstrasse  in  Munich,  87. 

MAISONS  DE  TOLERANCE,  334. 

Management  of  a  city,  effect 
of,  on  the  death-rate,  160. 

Managers,  municipal,  183. 

Mannheim,  20. 

Market-place,  the,  28. 

Mauriae,  Dr.,  on  soft  chancre, 
329. 

Mayor,  choice  of,  174;  in  early 
British  municipalities,  384  ; 
in  the  federal  form  of  ad- 
ministration, 177;  German 
method  of  selecting,  223;  un- 


[413] 


IXDEX 


der  the  commission  form  of 
administration,  186. 

Mayo-Smith,  Richmond,  138. 

McAdoo,  William,  on  segrega- 
tion, 324. 

Medical  inspection,  276-279. 

Medieval  cities,  19. 

Merit  system,  the,  217-221. 

Method  of  Scientific  Pedagogy, 
the,  259. 

Methods  of  control  of  public 
service  corporations,  229-244. 

Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 
in  New  York,  109. 

Michigan,  home-rule  provisions 
in,  206. 

Milan,  26 ;  the  Via  Dante  in,  76. 

Milk  problem,  the,  361. 

Minister,  the  new,  302. 

Minnesota,  home-rule  provisions 
in,  204. 

Missouri,  home-rule  provisions 
in,  199. 

Modern  city,  the,  1-17. 

Moliere,  statue  of,  87. 

Molo  Duca  di  Galliera  in 
Genoa,  115,  119,  126. 

Molo  Grano,  116,  119,  120,  121. 

Molo  Xuovo,  114,  115,  119,  120, 
125. 

Molo  Vecchio,  113,  114,  119, 
126. 

Montessori,  Dr.  Maria,  258,  260, 
261,  266,  268,  269,  305;  her 
method  of  teaching  writing, 
269;  schools,  258-269;  schools 
in  group  tenements,  51. 

Monument  of  the  International 
Postal  Union,  94. 

Monuments  in  squares,  89. 

Moral  training,  paramount,  310. 

Morals,  police  and  court  to  deal 
with  prostitution,  345-347. 

Mosquitoes,  transmission  of  dis- 
ease by,  150. 

Munich,  continuation  schools  of, 
270-276;  death-rates  in,  for 
forty-one  years,  140-141 ;  ef- 
fect of  the  reduction  of  the 
death-rate  in,  130-131 ;  schools 
of.  271 ;  table  showing  death- 
rates  in,  according  to  age- 
groups,  1876-1908,  132. 


Municipal  administration,  the 
federal  form,  176-181;  influ- 
ence of  charter  on,  166;  in- 
herited from  Great  Britain, 
17(5;  corporations  in  England 
and  Wales,  167;  reform  act 
of  1835,  406;  government,  166- 
193;  home-rule,  194-215;  leg- 
islation of  1835,  173,  175;  life 
and  religion,  295-312;  misgov- 
ernment  as  a  heritage,  377- 
407;  managers,  183;  owner- 
ship, 244-249;  ownership  in 
British  cities,  406;  ownership 
in  European  cities,  246. 

Museum  of  Natural  History, 
the,  109. 

NAPLES,  26 ;  foliage  in,  45 ;  hous- 
ing in,  44,  43,  statistical  bu- 
reau of,  137;  streets  in,  67; 
water  supply  of,  159. 

Nathan,  Ernesto,  Mayor  of 
Rome,  337. 

National  Municipal   League,  2. 

Neglect  of  cities,  296. 

Netherlands,  death-rate  of  cit- 
ies in  the,  129. 

Newsholme,  Dr.  Arthur,  on  in- 
fant and  child  mortality,  133. 

New  York  City,  death-rate  in, 
154 ;  effect  of  merit  system  in, 
219;  housing  conditions  in, 
52;  prize  for  the  most  beau- 
tiful electrolier,  76. 

New  York  State  Charities  Aid 
Association,  357;  and  home- 
rule  legislation,  208-212. 

New  York  state  public  serv- 
ice commissions  law,  the,  231. 

New  Zealand,  erection  of  homes 
for  working  men  in,  61. 

Non-partizan  primary,  the,  184. 

Nuremberg,  city  of,  19. 

OFFICERS,  corporate,  in  early 
British  municipalities,  384. 

Offices,  municiplicity  of,  180. 

Ohio,  home-rule  amendment  in, 
206. 

Oklahoma,  home-rule  provisions 
in,  205-206. 


[414] 


INDEX 


Open  lawns,  71. 

Oregon,     home-rule    provisions 

in,  205. 
Ownership,  municipal,  244-249. 


PALACE  OF  ST.  GEORGE,  112,  117, 
118. 

Paris,  city  of,  2;  candelabra  in, 
6,  76;  Place  de  la  Concorde, 
74;  plan  of,  23;  prostitution 
in,  336;  Pont  Alexander  III, 
74;  sky  line  in,  71;  street 
advertising  in,  78;  wood 
pavement  in,  69. 

Parks,  small,  109;  value  of,  97- 
112. 

Pasteur,  Louis,  discovery  by,  of 
the  work  of  bacteria  in  caus- 
ing disease,  148. 

Pavements,  69. 

Peace,  influence  on  the  city  of, 
3. 

Penn,  William,  his  design  of 
Philadelphia,  27,  32. 

Pestalozzi,  statue  of,  in  Zurich, 
92. 

Philadelphia,  plan  of,  27. 

Philosophic  League  of  Ken- 
tucky, the,  294. 

Physical  training,   283-285. 

Piazza  Corvetto  in  Genoa,  89. 

Piazza  della  Signoria  in  Flor- 
ence, 87. 

Piazza  del  Populo  in  Rome,  95. 

Piazza  San  Marco  in  Venice,  31. 

Place  de  la  Concorde  in  Paris, 
75. 

Place  de  la  Monnaie  in  Brus- 
sels, 76. 

Place  de  1'Etoile,  29,  38. 

Places,  centers  and  squares,  28. 

Plague,  the  bubonic,  149. 

Play,  function  of,  the,  101. 

Playgrounds,  value  of,  101. 

Poles  in  street,  36,  67,  75. 

Police  and  the  social  evil,  323. 

Policy  of  competition,  231-232. 

Policy  of  non-regulation  of 
public  service  corporations, 
229-231. 

Political  parties  in  municipali- 
ties, 177,  178. 

Pompeii,  17,  18;  streets  of,  67. 

[415] 


Ponte  Vecchio,  the,  in  Florence, 
73. 

Port  of  Genoa,  the,  111-127. 

Postal  Union  Monument  in 
Berne,  the,  94. 

Poverty  and  sickness,  370; 
elimination  of,  372-373. 

Prevention  of  the  spread  of 
disease,  150,  151. 

Primary,  the  non-partizan,  184. 

Prizes  for  artistic  lighting,  76. 

Profligacy,  a  bar  to  progress, 
355-356. 

Progress,  aims  of,  358;  condi- 
tions and  methods  of,  348- 
376;  dependent  on  scientific 
knowledge,  356-357;  historical 
aspects  of,  353;  profligacy  a 
bar  to,  355-356;  promoted  by 
conscious  effort,  349. 

Property  and  patronage  in 
early  British  municipalities, 
390." 

Prostitution,  causes  of,  317- 
320;  effect  of,  on  the  death- 
rate,  163;  elimination  of,  342- 
347;  French  system  of  deal- 
ing with,  333 ;  history  of,  326 ; 
in  police  and  court  matters, 
345-347. 

Public  comfort  places,  77. 

Public  opinion  as  a  factor  in 
social  alleviation,  349-3,52. 

Public  poor,  the,  old  method  of 
caring  for,  365. 

Public  service  commissions,  235, 
244;  law,  234;  and  corpora- 
tions, control  of,  225-249. 

Publicity,   191. 

Puche's,  M.,  his  investigation  of 
venereal  diseases  in  Paris, 
336. 

Pump  barge,  the,  in  San  Gior- 
gio, 124. 


RACE,  effect  of,  on  the  death- 
rate  of  a  city,  154. 

Rate-making,  240. 

Recall,  the,  188. 

Recreation,  facilities  for,  147. 

Referendum,  the,  189;  and 
franchises,  187,  191. 


INDEX 


Registration  of  prostitutes,  the, 
336-338. 

Regulation  of  public  service 
corporations,  the,  234-244. 

Relation  of  the  city  to  the  state, 
195,  197-199. 

Religion  and  municipal  life, 
295-312. 

Report,  the  first,  of  the  com- 
missioners appointed  to  in- 
quire into  municipal  corpora- 
tions of  England  and  Wales, 
167,  377. 

Rialto,  the,  in  Venice,  73. 

Right  of  local  self-government 
inherent,  196. 

Ringstrasse,  the,  in  Leipzig,  44; 
in  Vienna,  25,  44. 

Road  between  Jerusalem  and 
Jericho,  the,  309. 

Robinson,  Charles  Mulford, 
79. 

"Robinson  Crusoe,"  313. 

Rochester,  the  social  center 
movement  in,  288-293. 

Roman  cities,  28. 

Rome,  2,  26;  the  Appian  Way 
in,  295;  group  tenements  in, 
49-52;  housing  in,  44,  47; 
regulation  of  the  height  of 
buildings  in,  70;  wood  pave- 
ments in,  69. 

Rothenburg,   19. 

Rousseau  honored  in  Geneva, 
94. 


SAGE,  RUSSELL,  FOUNDATION,  the 
department  of  child  hygiene 
of,  276. 

Saloons  contributory  to  prosti- 
tution, 321. 

Samaritanism,  308,  309. 

Sanitary  homes,  147. 

Sans  Souci,  101-107. 

Scapa,  the  society  for  checking 
the  abuses  of  public  adver- 
tising, 78. 

Scarlet  fever,  149. 

Schopenhauer,  on  the  love  of 
the  sexes,  313-315. 

School  attendance,  how  best  se- 
cured, 255. 


Schools,  evening,  255;  gardens 
for,  284-285;  houses  of,  as  so- 
cial centers,  286 ;  wider  use 
of  plant  of,  286;  model,  294. 

Schools  of  Munich,  the,  271. 

Selection  of  city  offices  and  em- 
ployees, il6-£M. 

Sense  training  in  the  Montes- 
sori  schools,  265. 

Sexual  instruction,  317. 

Shadwell,  Dr.  Arthur,  on  pros- 
titution, 327. 

Shaw,  Justice,  decision  of,  203- 
204. 

Short  ballot,  the,  221-222. 

Sickness   and   poverty,   370. 

Sidewalks,  72;  concrete  ones, 
72. 

Sieges- Allee,  the,  in  Berlin,  91. 

Siegestor  in  Munich,  88. 

Site  planning,  38-10. 

Sitte,  Camillo,  32 ;  theory  of,  for 
city  planning,  26. 

Size,  effect  of,  on  the  death-rate 
of  a  city,  153. 

Sky  line,  the,  71. 

Small-pox,  149. 

Smith,  Adam,  on  competition, 
374. 

Social  evil,  the,  313-347. 

Social  wreckage,  prevention  of, 
369. 

Sovereignty  in  nation,  state  and 
city,  194,  195. 

Spoils  system  in  cities,  the, 
216-217;  necessary  for  party 
solidarity,  223. 

Squares,  centers  and  places,  28; 
for  recreation,  30;  in  front  of 
railroad  stations,  29. 

Stadtebau,  the,  26. 

Statue,  of  Bavaria  in  Munich, 
94;  of  Columbus  in  Genoa, 
90;  of  Dante  in  Florence,  90; 
of  Pestalozzi  in  Zurich,  92. 

Sterilization  of  defectives,  372. 

St.  Louis,  charter  of,  200. 

Stone  block  pavement,  the,  in 
Naples  and  Genoa,  69. 

Strozzi  Palace,  lamps  of  the, 
76. 

Stuttgart,  death-rate  in,  128. 

Streets,  decoration  of,  79 ;  ideal, 

[416] 


INDEX 


80-83;  in  residential  sections, 
71,  72;  intersections  of,  37; 
lighting  of,  75,  76;  system, 
the,  32 ;  uses  of,  66 ;  width  of, 
34,  35,  70. 

Subways,  5. 

Syphilis,  149,  164,  326,  329,  334, 
336. 


TALAMO,  ENGINEER  EDOARDO,  48, 
260,  261,  305. 

Table,  one  giving  a  comparison 
of  death-rates  in  European 
countries,  1891  and  1908,  136; 
one  showing  the  death-rates 
in  Berlin,  1721-1909,  134; 
others  showing  the  death- 
rates,  in  Berlin  of  children 
during  the  first  year  of  life, 
1882-1907,  135,  in  Munich,  ac- 
cording to  age-groups,  132, 
in  Munich  for  forty-one 
years,  classified  according  to 
diseases,  140-141;  in  various 
cities  from  pulmonary  tuber- 
culosis and  typhoid  fever, 
1908,  138;  one  showing  the 
decline  of  death-rates  in  lead- 
ing cities,  129. 

Telephone,  the,  4. 

Tenement  groups  in  Rome,  49- 
52,  65. 

Tenement  -  house  department, 
New  York  City,  52,  53. 

Theological  schools,  new  atti- 
tude of,  302. 

Third-class  cities,  operation  of 
merit  system  in,  219. 

Trafalgar  Square  in  London, 
94. 

Training  of  the  citizen,  311. 

Trees  on  streets,  36,  80. 

Treve  fountain  in  Rome,  the, 
95. 

Trolley-cars,  4;  -centers,  30. 

Trolley-wires  under  ground,  15. 

Tuberculosis,  j  rotection  of  so- 
ciety against,  151 ;  pulmonary, 
death-rates  from,  138;  pul- 
monary, prevalence  of,  in 
cities,  '139. 

Turin,  2;  plan  of,  18. 


Types  of  houses  best  suited  for 
working  people  of  moderate 
means,  62-65. 

Typhoid  fever,  death  -  rates 
from,  138;  elimination  of,  152. 


ULM,  municipal  tenements   in, 

60. 
United  States,  the  death-rate  of 

cities  in,  129. 
Unter  den  Linden  in  Berlin,  76. 


VACCINATION,  149. 

Value  of  art  in  cities,  84-96; 
value  of  parks,  97-112. 

Venereal  diseases,  329;  effect 
of,  on  the  death-rate,  163-164; 
in  Paris,  333. 

Venice,  31 ;  the  Rialto  in,  73. 

Versailles,  107-108. 

Via  Dante,  the,  in  Florence,  68; 
in  Milan,  76. 

Via  Vente  Settembre,  in  Genoa, 
72. 

Vienna,  housing  in,  44;  remod- 
eling of,  24. 

Voltaire,  103-106. 

Vote-buying,  179. 


WALLS  and  hedges,  72. 

War,  a  foe  to  progress,  354- 
355;  influence  of,  on  housing, 
42;  monuments,  94. 

Ward,  Edward  J.,  289,  290,  291. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  housing 
conditions  in,  55-57  plan  of, 
22;  social  evil  in,  325;  street 
system  of,  33. 

Washington,  state  of,  home-rule 
provisions  in,  204. 

Washington  Sanitary  Housing 
Company  the,  58. 

Washington  Sanitary  Improve- 
ment Company,  the,  57. 

Waste,  disposal  of,  144. 

Water,  pure,  362;  supply  of, 
146;  effect  of  supply  of,  and 
drainage  on  the  death-rate  of 
a  city,  157. 

White  slavery,  333. 


[417] 


INDEX 

Width  of  streets,  the,  70.  Writing,  the  Montessori  method 

Wires  m  streets,  36,  67.  of  teaching,  268. 
Wider  use  of  school  plants,  the, 

286-294. 

Wires  in  streets,  75.  YOTTKG,  EDWARD,  298. 

Wood  pavements,  69.  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 

Wordsworth,    William,    on    the  tions,  256. 

influence  of  nature,  99. 
Worlomont,     on     prostitution, 

®9.  ZOXE  SYSTEM,  the,  39. 

Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  his  plan  Zwingli,  remembered  bv  Zurich 

of  London,  20-22.  94. 


[418] 


